Loneliness
by All4Hiccstrid
Summary: Eren Yeager has had feelings for a fellow cadet for several years now. What will happen when Annie Leonhart is revealed to have been traitor to the entire city? will Eren Yeager have different feelings about her, or will he go out of his way to make an effort to understand the girl he likes, or will he turn against her? Eren soon comes to realize that his decisions might be correct


**Loneliness** by theShipperJB

Anime: _Attack on Titan_ **Rated:K** English, Romance, [Eren, Annie] Words:26k+

Chapter 1

Eren looked at the blonde girl sitting alone outside the training grounds, and realized that it was Annie Leonhart. Eren didn't know much about Annie except for the fact that she wasn't a social person, and was known to beat the living daylights out of anybody who ticked her off. In Eren's case, he knew she got angry rather easily. There was something strange about her that Eren couldn't place his finger on. Eren knew that Annie was a strong-willed girl, and that she never smiled. As he watched her sitting there with an almost sad expression on her face. Eren liked the way her blue eyes never wavered. He knew he had to admit the fact that she didn't want anybody in her life, but then everyone knew that Eren was a hard-headed boy, and never gave up. Though, something held him back from telling Annie how he felt.

In fact, there was three reasons why he held back. One, Annie would punch him in the face. Two, he would feel like a fool for telling her if he was rejected. Three, Mikasa would not approve, and most likely strangle him during training. Although Eren respected Mikasa's wishes, he knew that she was a bit overprotective of him. Eren liked that she cared, but she got in the way sometimes. Eren's train of though was interrupted by Annie speaking to him. Annie "Eren? Why have you been watching me?" Eren turned red, and looked at the ground. Annie had never seen Eren Yeager act like this before. Usually, Eren would say something sarcastic, then walk off. Eren knew he had been caught, and realized that this was his chance to tell Annie how he felt. They stood there, looking at one another, unable to speak. It was Annie who broke the silence.

Annie "Okay Eren. Care to tell me why you are so quiet all of a sudden?" Eren couldn't bring himself to say anything to Annie for he saw the other cadets walk across the field, and start combat practice. Eren was thinking about running over to the practice field and taking his spot. Meanwhile, Annie stood there, waiting for Eren to answer her question. Eren just stood there. There was a war going on inside of him. On one side, he wanted to tell Annie he loved her. On the other side, he wanted to say nothing, and run from her with his tail between his legs. Eventually, his cowardice won. Eren ran off, leaving Annie standing there, wondering what had gotten into him. She decided to watch him until he reached his spot on the practice field. When he reached it, she sighed sadly, then walked off to meet up with her fellow squad mates.

Annie was walking to the Military Barracks, cursing herself for letting that boy get close to her without doing anything to keep him away. She knew that her mission was too important to let somebody distract her, although he did seem cute, she could not ignore the fact that she had no room for love in her life, or so, Reiner had strictly explained to her. Annie had been forced to listen to Reiner, for he proven himself to the officials back at Marley that he could make the right decisions in the heat of battle. Annie had never told anyone that they were inside the walls to find the coordinate. They were never told what it was, just that it was important. Annie knew that her people were shifters, powerful titans who could control their titan forms to an extent. She was the female titan, one of out of the very few, who could harden parts of her body into solid diamond, allowing her to shield herself, and pack a serious punch. Although the people behind the walls meant nothing to her, she still felt a connection to their pain of losing loved ones and being driven to the walls, seeking shelter from the titans. Annie was constantly misunderstood, and she remembered when her father told her that no matter what she did, the world would never understand her, or what she was.

Reiner's words hurt Annie more than what being understood felt like. Annie felt something spark inside her every time that Eren Yeager kid approached her, and she couldn't place her finger on what she was feeling. She knew that Eren was trying to tell her something, but his efforts to communicate only annoyed and infuriated her. Annie knew that if Eren realized what she was, he would not be so eager to pursue her. While Annie was getting lost in her thoughts, Eren was sparring with Mikasa in the training field and was getting his ass kicked. Mikasa was his adoptive sister but people claimed they were boyfriend and girlfriend. Mikasa knew when Eren was troubled, and decided to ask him about it after they finished combat practice. Mikasa flipped a weary Eren over her shoulder one last time, and called it a day. When they went on their lunch break, Mikasa questioned Eren "Okay, what's the matter?" Eren gave her a sad look.

Eren started to speak. "I don't know Mikasa…It's about Annie. I have feelings for her, but I'm afraid to tell her how I feel." Eren watched as Mikasa narrowed her dark blue eyes, and her mouth turned into a snarl. Her eyes were as wide as saucers. "What?! You do realize that Annie does not let anybody near her. If you ask me, she's nothing but trouble!" Eren couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Mikasa! Annie is not trouble, she's just needs to be heard. Or have you even tried to understand who she was, or what goes on in her head?" Mikasa calmed down as quickly as she let her anger flare. She turned sad eyes to Eren. "Your right Eren. Sorry I was so quick to misjudge Annie." Eren accepted her apology, for he knew Mikasa didn't mean it. Eren was determined to figure out Annie's secrets, and set off to find her. Eren walked over to the military police barracks, but was stopped when several scouts wearing 3DM gear flew by on rappelling hooks, and landed in front of Eren. "Trost district is under attack by Titans! They have broken through!" Eren decided Annie could wait. Eren quickly ran to the scout dormitory, where his 3DM gear was lying on his bed.

Chapter 2

Eren grabbed his 3DM gear and rushed to Trost district with six other scouts who turned out to be Sasha, Connie, Marco, Mina, Armin, and Section Commander Hanji Zoe. Eren rappled over the sixty-meter-high wall that led to Trost district, and immediately spotted a seven-meter titan that was waiting for him on the other side of the wall. Eren spun 360 degrees, and shot one rappelling hook into the titan's neck, and the other one into the wall beside the titan. Eren then pressed the gas on his gear, and shot towards the titan's neck and swung both blades in a neat, diagonal cut. The blades cleanly severed the titan's nape at the back of its neck. Eren watched as the titan fell to the ground with a crash, then steam rose from the titan's body. Just moments later, only a skeleton could be seen.

Eren landed perfectly on one of the buildings, and checked to see how the other scouts were doing. They were not doing well. Eren watched as Mina was grabbed out of the air, and her struggle to get free from the titan's grasp was to no avail, and she screamed in frustration. Her scream was cut short when the titan bit her head off. Eren watched in shock, unable to do anything to help her. He could have saved her life, and he knew it. He hated himself for it. Eren charged at the abnormal titan's nape, and was grabbed by another titan. He realized he had been foolish to charge in blindly, and did not look for other titans in the area. Eren was quickly swallowed whole. Eren was in a pool of blood of his comrades and former friends. He realized that he was going to die, but refused to accept death so soon. He thrashed inside of the titan's stomach, trying to climb out, but instead cut himself on a scout's sword lying around in the titan's stomach.

Eren felt a rage consume him. He was going to kill every titan in existence, for he needed to avenge his mother's death at the hands of the titans. He saw stem coming from the cut on his arm, and he felt a tremendous power building up inside of him. Flashes of lightning exploded around him, and his hand broke out of the titan's mouth. Eren realized he was a titan! Though, he had never felt so powerful, and he seemed to get an insane rage every time he saw a titan. Eren started looking for titans to kill, and found a titan reaching for Mikasa. Eren stepped forward and stood protectively in front of Mikasa. He roared a challenge to the titan in front of him, then launched himself at the titan. The punch Eren delivered to the titan was so strong, that the titans head was ripped off and it flew several hundred yards before smashing into a building. Eren was killing titans in ones and twos as he made his way to the military headquarters in the center of town. Eren had heard stories about the Attack titan, and never imagined that the Attack titan would be his to command. He never realized that he would be gifted with an unimaginable power, since he heard stories that the attack titan was indeed, one of the most powerful titans. He had always thought that the attack titan would have belonged to someone else, and not him. However, here he was, controlling the attack titan.

Annie had responded to the attack on Trost district, and as she sped towards where the titans were at, she saw dead bodies everywhere. Although the dead bodies of former comrades didn't affect her. She passed several collapsed buildings, and saw Sasha, Armin, and Connie. She regrouped with them and immediately saw that Armin was on his knees, with a horrified look on his face. Annie looked to see how the others had responded to Armin's reaction. Annie followed Armin's horrified stare and saw that he was looking at Mikasa, who was sitting on her knees as titans converged on her. Eren had always been there to tell Mikasa to fight. She still couldn't get over the fact that he was dead, and knew that she should have been there by his side to keep him out of trouble. She suspected that he charged blindly into a mass of titans, and probably ended up killing one or two before being eaten. He was always doing things like that.

Mikasa no longer had the will to live on, for Eren was the one who stood with her through the tough times, and pushed her to fight, even when everything was hopeless. With Eren gone, ( _assumed by reports of seeing him get eaten by a titan_ ) Mikasa couldn't go on. Eren told her to make him a promise, that even when he was dead and gone, that she needed to fight to protect the innocent from the titans. Now that Eren was gone, she couldn't do it. She missed the young boy who saved her from the local city bullies, and took her in when nobody else would. Giving up at last, she had reached the final straw. As Mikasa sat on the ground waiting for the titans to eat her, a titan with green eyes just like Erens stepped in front of her. The titan roared a challenge, then launched forward at the nearest titan and took its head off with a single blow. It continued to wreak havoc, killing four other titans around Mikasa before heading off.

Annie was tending to Armin, when a berserk titan rounded the corner and started to kill titans. She watched as Eren killed several titans under twenty seconds. It wasn't long before Eren was overwhelmed by titans, and was pinned down under the weight of several titans. As they watched Erens arms get ripped off, the abnormal titan that ate Mina came out from behind one of the buildings. Eren recognized it was the same abnormal titan that killed many comrades. He charged at the abnormal titan, tossing them as if they were just a mere annoyance. Eren lunged forward, and snapped his jaws shut around the abnormal titan's neck. He threw the abnormal titan into three other titans, then collapsed on the ground with a bang. Annie gasped when Eren Yeager came out of the titan's body. Annie could not believe that Eren was a titan shifter, let alone that she realized that he was the founding titan. After the Trost district was cleared of titans, Annie went to see Eren in the medical barracks. When Annie walked through the doors of the barracks, she took a left turn and went inside the room Eren was staying in. she didn't realize how badly hurt he was, until she saw that he had literally no arms currently. At least, not full ones anyway. She saw that he had almost regrown partial stubs up to his elbows, and that it was enough to keep him happy for the time being.

Chapter 3

She walked up to Eren. "Hey, Eren I don't know if you want to talk, but I would like to speak with you" Eren faintly heard her voice from his deep slumber. He couldn't believe his ears. Annie wanted to talk to him? Eren opened his eyes and took a long look at Annie, who was sitting there with a worried look on her face. This was the first time Eren had ever seen her worried about something. He decided to get some things out of his head. "I'm a monster Annie. I said I would kill every titan even though I ended up being one myself." Annie didn't say anything, but kept on staring at Eren with solemn eyes. Eren was starting to get mad. "Aren't you going to say anything? I thought you wanted to talk. Or did you just come here to stare at me and pretend like you care?" Annie could only stare at Eren in silence as he rambled on about how he was a big mistake, and that he could have saved his team from being killed.

Finally, Annie could stand it no longer. "Eren, you're just like me, so quit whining about not being able to save your friends. You would have ended up killing them rather than saving them. Like I said, you and I are no different from each other. I'm also a titan shifter." Eren could only stare in horror at Annie, and take in the horrible truth of what she just revealed. Annie "Think of me what you will Eren. I only ask that you don't misunderstand my motives like so many other people before you." Eren took some time to take in what he just heard. "So, who cares what you want? You are just like the other titans. I can see it now that you don't care about anyone behind the walls!" Annie's eyes narrowed. "You don't know anything about me Yeager! Do you know what it is like to be forced to watch your own people lose their humanity? To become savage beasts and kill each other, friends and family alike, without feeling any guilt?"

Eren just looked at Annie with an incredulous look on his face. "What do you think has been happening to my people? If you wanted to help your people, and I'm guessing that's why you're here, you should have just asked. Instead, you enter our walls, bringing titans with you!" Annie was on the verge of punching Eren. "My people have asked yours to help us find a cure, but they refused because we were turning into titans!" Eren refused to give in so easily. Annie "They didn't understand what we were, and refused to help us. You are a titan shifter like me now." Eren liked Annie, but not when she was like this. Annie "Just wait until the people you protected during the Trost attack turn against you." Annie didn't want to hurt him, but if he didn't join the titan's side, her people would die. She was forced to make a decision, for unknowingly Eren had no idea that she knew he had the founding titan living inside of him. Another part of her wanted to help the people behind the walls, for she was sick of watching them get eaten by mindless titans. She decided to stick around a bit so she could teach Eren how to use the founding titan's power that resided inside of him. She stayed with Eren for a few more minutes, then left to go find Reiner and tell him what she planned to do.

Eren was left sitting alone in the medical barracks, and he started to take notice of his surroundings. He noticed that the walls, blanket, bed, and window curtains were white. After he sat there for three minutes, he swore to himself that he would remind the medical staff to never paint anything white again. The room smelled like a funeral home, and the silence was torture. Meanwhile, Annie was wandering the streets, looking for Reiner. She ended up running into Sasha and Connie, who were acting like morons. They were on the practice field and attempting to fight each other, only Connie looked like a praying mantis. And Sasha… well, Annie couldn't figure out what she was doing. To her, it looked like Sasha was trying to launch something at Connie. She wasn't surprised at that, because everyone in the 104th cadet squad called her the "potato girl" and in a way, it wasn't entirely true. What happened was the training instructor Mr. Shadis caught her eating a potato during the honorary attendance salute.

Annie's attention was distracted by a dark figure sneaking across the practice field. The figure passed Sasha and Connie without being seen, obviously. They were too busy acting like morons to notice, or even care. The sunlight hit the figures face, and Annie momentarily saw that it was Reiner. She crossed the practice field as well, and followed him into one of the cities rare pubs. She followed Reiner to one of the tables, where Bertolt was randomly sitting at. Bertolt was old enough to be inside one of the cities drinking pubs. She sat down beside Bertolt just as Reiner did. Reiner jumped at her sudden appearance, for she arrived without warning. Reiner "The fuck?" Bertolt just sat there with a calm demeanor on his face. "I saw her follow you inside. Sorry I didn't warn you." Reiner just grunted in response, and turned to speak to Annie. "So, is he the founding titan or not?" Annie "Of course he is. He just might need to be trained to use his titan form before we head out. Also, I don't think he is willing to come with us." Reiner looked a t Bertolt for reference. Bertolt "We can't do anything about that. We can only grab him and get outside the walls, and get back to Marley."

Annie "There might be a slight complication." Reiner "What?" Annie "If we don't train him, he may end up using his powers in Marley, and end up wiping out half of the city." Reiner and Bertolt though about over what Annie said for a few minutes. Reiner "Very well, you can train him. But you only have a few weeks to train him, got it? Then we are leaving the walls for good." Annie gave herself a discreet pat on the back for persuading Reiner to let her train Eren. She left for the medical barracks once more, and found that Eren was no longer there. He had been let out, due to his titan ability to regenerate wounds and illnesses outside, and inside of his titan form. Eren was hanging out with Mikasa and Armin when Annie found him. She decided to talk to him later, but wasn't given the chance to walk away, because Armin wanted her to help him with something. Armin "Hey Annie, wait up! Can you help me with something?" Annie turned and faced Armin. "Sure, what is it?" she didn't like talking to other people, but she had to make an exception this time. She was led to the underground tunnels by Armin, and started to get suspicious of what they were planning. She stopped at the entrance, and did not take another step forward. Annie saw that Armin kept looking to his left, then his right. He was careful not to move his head in the direction he was looking. What worried Annie even more, was that she had told Eren that she was the female titan, and that must have been enough to get Eren to tell the superiors about her. Annie suspected they were leading her into a trap.

Chapter 4

Annie didn't move a muscle. She realized that if she went into the tunnels, which she would not be able to transform into her titan form and save herself. It was when Armin finally confronted her that she learned of Erens treachery. Armin "Are you the female titan?" Annie just gave a little laugh. "You already know the answer to that, don't you?" Eren was watching the scene fold out before him. He felt terrible for betraying Annie, but he had no choice. They were not going to take him to Marley to become some test subject, and god knows what else. Armin raised his hand, and seventeen military police ran out from the shadows. Annie reacted swiftly, grabbing one man's arm and swinging him in a circle, knocking down several other attackers. Mere Seconds later, they had her pinned. She activated a ring on her finger, which a small blade shot out of and cut her. Eren and Armin cursed out loud. Armin yelled for the people holding Annie down to run, but his words were cut off from the crackle of lightning, and a few people turned to look at Armin, then were suddenly blown back from a blast of electricity. They were killed instantly. Annie stood there in her female titan form, searching frantically for any other aggressors.

Eren watched as Annie was forced to transform into her titan form. Eren now feared greatly for her safety, as the entire city was now on alert for the female titan. Annie began to head towards the wall and attempted to climb over it. The situation was not looking good for Annie. There were now MP's around every corner, and cannon fire was smashing into her. She had no choice but to fight back, and kill. Annie kicked a cannon into a group of soldiers, wiping them out. Her actions gave her a short break from the relentless attacks. Although, it came with a price. Annie started to climb the wall again, and was confronted by Mikasa at the top. Mikasa "You never should have tried to fight back. Come on. Give up Annie, its over." With those words, Mikasa cut Annie's fingertips off. Annie fell to the ground, and was immediately set upon by angry scouts and military soldiers. They ripped the nape of her titan's neck open, and yanked her from her titan's body, then threw her on the ground. She was suddenly dragged to her feet, and a soldier held a knife held to her throat. Luckily, someone went to her defense, and knocked the people holding her aside with little to no effort. Annie "Eren, why?" Annie was shocked. Why would he do this for her after he betrayed her? That boy just confused her.

Annie watched as Eren took the knife from the soldier's hand, and tossed it aside. "There will be no more killing today, understood?" Levi came out of nowhere, and dropped down in front of Eren. "The kid is right." Levi pointed at several MP's "Take her to the underground dungeons. We'll see what she has to cough up about our enemy in Marley." Eren took a step forward to help take Annie to the underground dungeons, but was stopped by Levi. Levi "Yeager, you can stay where you are. You did inform us that she was told to abduct you by the Marleyan government, and had orders to bring you to them, at all cost. Is that correct?" Eren nodded his head. "Yes." Levi "Good." Eren reluctantly left Annie to stand by Bertolt and Reiner, who showed up just in time to see Annie narrowly escape a quick death from an angry soldier when Eren suddenly intervened. Annie allowed herself to be escorted to the underground dungeons, and did not resist when they place chains on her hands and feet. She looked up one last time as a heavy four-inch thick door slammed shut, blocking out most of the light. The only light available was coming from a small window. She realized she was going to get very lonely indeed.

Annie sat there in the shadowy room, and saw that she was in a high security imprisonment cell. That information alone told her that the military police did not play around with dangerous criminals. Although…she didn't consider herself a dangerous criminal. Certainly not dangerous enough to be placed in such a horrible place like the underground prisons. She wished Bertolt and Reiner would have done something to help her. Especially Bertolt, for his titan form could have simply smashed open a hole in the wall big enough for her to escape through. Annie heard the door being opened, and she quickly turned to see who would come in. It was Levi, and he did not look happy. Annie trembled for a second, then steeled herself for what could come. She knew Levi would want answers, and she would give him none. Levi crossed the dimly lit room with a speed that astonished her. In a split second, Levi had whipped out a chair and slammed it down in front of her. She didn't flinch, like Levi hoped she would. He sat down in the chair and didn't move. She saw that he was thinking of what to ask her, and she knew that Levi always got answers. Except for the first time in his life, Levi would fail to get answers out of a female prisoner, and it would give him doubts about the stubbornness and endurance women could have.

Levi "Why do you want to kidnap Eren?" Annie didn't answer, but her heart skipped a beat when Levi mentioned Eren. Did he know that she liked him? If so, then she had to put Eren out of her mind when Levi mentioned him. Although, the interrogation was about why the Marleyan government wanted the founding titan so badly…enough to the point where they would send three undercover agents to wall Rose just to find it. She looked down at the ground, and didn't say anything. Levi saw her reaction when he said Erens name, and realized a way he could get her to talk. Otherwise he would use torture to get her to talk. She didn't do anything in the past to piss him off, and he didn't like hurting women. However, he had a job to do, and by any means necessary he would get answers out of her. Several hours had passed and Levi had asked Annie hundreds of questions, being sure that they had the word Eren in it. Eventually, he got tired and left the room. He would try again tomorrow. The second Levi left, Annie sat up and swore to herself. He figured out that she liked Eren, and every time Levi said his name, she had flashbacks of when she and the other cadets had been training with their 3DM gear. It made her remember when she had just taken down a practice target. ( _Which is a giant wooden replica of a titan, with a sandbag attached to the back of the neck so trainees could slice the nape and pretend to confirm a kill, enhancing their skills with not only the 3DM gear, but also their teamwork skills._ )

She had gone after another target, and was seventy feet above the ground when Eren bumped into her. They both fell, and Eren grabbed her and pressed the gas valve on his gear when they were twenty feet from the ground, slowing their fall greatly. Eren had put his body underneath her so he would be the first one to hit the ground. Eren ended up breaking a few ribs, while she walked off with a few bruises. She remembered Eren every time Levi said his name, and she hated it. She couldn't let Levi break her, or she would have no home to go to. The scouts didn't want her here after learning what she was, and if she gave information to Levi, she would be called out as a traitor by the Marleyan people, and would be executed if she returned. She had no choice but to push Eren out of her life and mind, and look to herself for comfort. She just needed to stay strong for a few weeks. Then Bertolt and Reiner would come up with a plan and break her out of her cell.

Chapter 5

Eren attended court the night before, for turning into a titan. ( _Eldians living inside of the city were afraid of titans, even though they were the only race of people who could truly turn into real titans. Eren is an Eldian, as is Annie, Reiner, Bertolt, and Ymir are. Ymir is mentioned later in the story, but I just wanted to point out that yes…Ymir, the holder of the Jaws titan, is an Eldian._ ) Eren had his hands chained to a post behind his back, and sat on his knees. He was berating himself for not believing Annie when she said that his people would not trust him, once they knew what he had become. All he could think was that he had done justice when he turned Annie in, but felt guilty when he did. Why did he defend her? She didn't do anything to earn his trust. He liked her, but did not understand her motives, or what her intentions were. He hated how he liked her personality, but still did not know a lot about her. Ever since she had been taken to the underground the day before, he couldn't help but worry about her. He literally made Levi lash out in anger when he kept on asking him if he could see her. Eren had managed to move out of the way in time before Levi's fist connected with an innocent MP, who was minding his own business. Eren knew the MP would have complained to his commander about talking to Levi about his behavior, but unfortunately the MP was knocked out cold the second Levi's fist connected with his face.

It was on this morning when Levi was sitting at one of the tables in the officer's lunchroom, when Eren walked in and sat down beside Levi. Levi was finishing up his tea, so Eren let him drink his tea in peace. Levi took his time, and eventually finished. They both turned to go out the door when a loud bang could be heard, and the door caved in a little. Eren rushed over and opened the door, to find Hanji, the section commander. Levi turned around. "What the hell was that about Hanji?" Hanji turned to look at Levi and was squinting her eyes, trying to see him clearly. "Levi, there you are! Um…who's holding open the door?" Levi mumbled under his breath. Hanji spoke. "Have you seen my-" Levi "Don't tell me you've lost your glasses, four-eyes. They are on your head." Hanji blushed. "Oops, My bad. I have to stop leaving them up there." Hanji left the room without another word. Levi looked at Eren and saw that he was about to ask a question, and he had a feeling he knew what it would be.

Levi was not disappointed. Eren "Can I see-" Levi cut him off. "I don't see why not, since you have asked me the same damn question at least two-hundred times in the past twelve hours." Eren almost fell back in shock. He had never seen Levi give in to anybody, besides Erwin. "Wait really?" Eren still wasn't sure if Levi was being sarcastic, or if he was serious. He expected Levi to want something from him if he was going to go see Annie, like her weaknesses, fears, etc. Levi "Yes, really. You can go see her. But you have three hours, and I want you to see if you can't get her to talk. She's been quiet for the past few days, and I haven't had any success in getting her to talk. Besides, she likes you." Eren stopped pacing back and forth, and stared at Levi like he was crazy. "Really? She likes me?" Levi "Yes, I noticed that she would lift her head up when I said your name, and a small smile would show up on her face. It was a smile of happiness. However, I'm telling you, Eren. Don't let it get to your head. She's the enemy, and wants to kidnap you. So, make sure you don't let your guard down when you're around her." Eren nodded in acknowledgement. "Yes sir." Levi "Oh, and on more thing. If you do get her to talk, tell me everything she says, if it pertains to why she wants to kidnap you, and take you back to that damned Marleyan country across the sea." Eren nodded. "Yes sir." Eren then left the room.

Annie was sitting in silence, listening to the people of the underground moving around and living their everyday lives. Meanwhile, she knew that she would never have the life the people inside the city did. For she had been on the run all her life. The only sense of belonging she had was when she lived with her father as a little girl. He wasn't very social towards her, but she enjoyed it none the less. Her father trained her in the art of hand to hand combat, and every time she heard him say "Excellent job Annie. You're starting to do better." She would feel that she had a purpose, for her father's praises were very rare to hear. Sometimes, she would be lucky to hear him say anything at all. When he died, she was forced to leave her home, and become a warrior in Marley. She kept secret the fact that she was an Eldian, in case anyone wanted to kill her out of fear of what she could become. She was interrupted from her thoughts as the door started to swing open. Annie sighed in frustration. She didn't want to meet Levi again, for she could not take another prolonged interrogation. Instead of facing the door, she turned to face the corner. She would not make eye contact with Levi again.

Besides the first visit, Levi had always made his presence known to her by simply saying "Ready to talk this time?" but so far, nobody had spoken, and it was quiet. Then she heard the chair being moved, and someone sitting down on it. Eren whispered to himself. "Um… gosh, what was I going to say? Okay, this is awkward. Why did I bug Levi into coming down here when I don't even know what to say to her?" the moment Annie heard his whispering voice, her Heart lurched in her stomach. She realized that maybe if she sat there and did nothing, then he would leave. It was not to be. Eren "So, um Annie, could you explain to me why your shirt sleeves are stained with blood?" Annie held back a frustrated groan. She forgot that she attacked Levi when he let her walk around a bit to get blood flowing back into her cramped muscles. When she tackled Levi to the ground, she had expected it to be easy to get him in a chokehold, make him pass out, then escape the walls. What she didn't factor in was that Levi was not stupid enough to fall for a chokehold. He easily flipped her over his shoulder and onto her back. He then quickly pulled out his sword, and cut off her arms, knowing that they would grow back within a few hours. Yes, they would grow back, but the pain of having her arms cut off was what got to her.

Annie sighed. "It's nothing. Levi just cut off my arms when I tried to get him in a chokehold and escape this stupid prison cell. I can't leave if I tell you anything about Marley. I would be executed." Eren's anger flared. "He CUT off your arms?! What the hell was he thinking? As a matter of fact, what the hell were you thinking, Annie? Do you know what I would have done if I had known about this sooner?!" Annie rolled her eyes at him. "Why would _you_ care what happens to me?" Eren stood up. "Why? Because _you_ care about me!" Annie leaned back in surprise. "What do you mean I " _care_ " about you? You betrayed me by turning me in!" Eren knew he had to tell her why he turned her in. "Look, Annie. I'm sorry that I turned you in. I wasn't thinking straight, and you " _did_ " say you were trying to kidnap me. Although I should have listened to you when you said that my people would turn against me. I felt guilty when I turned you in. I felt guilty before and after I turned you in. I liked you, but I didn't trust you completely. I lost it when you mentioned you were trying to kidnap me. I stood in your defense, and saved you from being killed by that soldier with the knife. Levi made the decision not to kill you, but place you in here so he could perhaps talk to you about why you were doing this." Eren sucked in a deep breath after he finished. Annie just sat there with a sad expression on her face.

Chapter 6

Annie felt tears starting to slide down her face, and she started to cry. She was crying for attempting to kidnap Eren, and for killing all those innocents. She cried for not telling Eren how she felt. She cried the tears she could never cry for her father when he died. She cried for everything and everyone whom she had done wrong to. Her tears blocked out her vision, and she felt Eren pull her close to him, for he was holding her and trying to calm her down. Eren whispered. "Everything is going to be okay Annie." Eren held Annie until her sobs turned into soft whimpers, and eventually into the occasional sniffle now and then. Annie finally looked up at Eren. "Did you mean it when you said you liked me?" Eren looked at her with an honest expression. "Of course, I did. Do you really like me?" Annie "Yes. I was just never able to tell you, because I was afraid you would hate me when I had to take you to Marley." Eren "You still don't have to take me to Marley. Yesterday, Commander Pixus allowed me to become part of the main defense for the city with Ymir if the titans breach wall Rose, because it is vital that we do not lose any more territory. You can tell them what the Marleyan government is planning, then I can see about setting you free from this prison, and joining me and Ymir as titan/human alliance in defending wall Rose." Annie "I don't know, Eren. The people already hate me. They won't want me on their side. And the scouts or MP's aiding you and Ymir would probably " _accidentally_ " kill me in battle for revenge."

Eren gave a short laugh. Annie "You think it's funny that they could kill me?" Eren "No, I don't. It's just that you don't get the part when they say, _"Defenders of wall Rose_." They will be making metal armor for us. It should cover our neck and legs. Also, they will be making sharp pieces of metal the size of our titan's fingernails, so we can literally cut off a titan's head in one swing." When Annie heard that they were going to wear armor in the important places on their titan forms, she agreed to tell Levi everything. Eren "So you _will_ tell him everything?" Annie "Yes." Eren "I'll go and get Levi. The sooner you tell him, the sooner I can see about getting you out of this cell and joining me and Ymir in defending Wall Rose." With that said, Eren left the room. He bumped into Levi on his way up the stairs. Levi "Well, you're on time. I was about to go get you. Did she talk?" Eren glared at him. "You never told me you cut her arms off, Levi. What the hell were you thinking?"

Levi sighed. "Kid, I follow orders, and I get shit done. I don't like hurting people, but she _did_ attack me, and I reacted out of self-defense. Get angry if you want to, but watch your mouth when you are talking to your superior officers. Got it?" Eren "Yes sir." Levi "So, I'll ask again. Did she talk, and if she did, what did she say?" Eren "Very good news." Levi's eyes opened wide in anticipation of what Eren was going to say, for he was tired of being on interrogation duty, and wanted it to be over with. Eren "She will tell you and me everything. I was just on my way to get you as well, for she wants to talk to us both." Levi "Kid, this is good news. Although I sense there is something else on your mind. What is it?" Eren "Do you think commander Pixus would let her join me and Ymir in defending wall Rose? I told her I would ask. Also, if she tells you everything now, then she can't go back to Marley" Levi "Why not?" Eren "She told me they would mark her as a traitor, and have her executed on the spot." Levi "Wow. I guess we could work something out for her." Eren heart skipped a beat. Annie might have a home after all.

The moment Eren opened the door, Annie rushed over and hugged him. Annie "What took you guys so long?" Eren "Annie, we were only gone for a few minutes." Annie "Eren, you do realize that when I'm in here with nothing to do but stare at a damn wall twenty-four seven, and think about my life, that a few minutes will seem like an hour." Eren rolled his eyes. Levi "Point taken. Now let's get this over with." Annie groaned in frustration, then leaned against Eren. Levi rolled his eyes. "You two can cuddle later. Right now, I need information from you. Today is my last day on shift, then you get to deal with commander Erwin. And trust me, he is not a man you want to cross." Annie sat up straight. "Well, I can't answer any questions unless you ask them." Levi "Very well. What does the Marleyan government plan to do?" Annie "The Marleyan government sent me, Reiner, and Bertolt here to retrieve a coordinate. We did not know what coordinate was until Eren transformed into the attack titan. Unknowingly, he unleashed a little bit of the founding titans power." Levi "Is this what allowed him to kill twenty-one titans with ease?" Annie "No. that was the attack titan's power. The attack titan is the second strongest titan shifter ability, depending on the user. Erens tendency to go berserk when titans are around, makes him the perfect weapon to be thrown a massive group of titans. The reason he only killed twenty titan's that day was because they were spread out, not to mention the buildings blocking his line of sight."

Levi "So he is only good for going berserk?" Annie gave him a sarcastic look. "No, if he is in control, he can hold a vital position on a battlefield for several days. Not to mention if you have seen his titan form, then you can see that it was meant for combat. It also has the ability to regenerate entire limbs instantly in combat." Levi "So why exactly do the Marleyan people want the founding titan, and what are its powers? Should we be afraid of it?" Annie took a few seconds before answering. "The Marleyan people want the founding titan so they can tear apart your walls. Inside of your walls are several hundred sixty-meter colossus titans. These titans are not like the others. They can destroy a good portion of the earth if let loose upon Marley's enemies. The Eldians are whom the colossus titans protect, at the command of the founding titan. The founding titan is the strongest titan. Although, there is a setback. You must have royal blood flowing through your veins that is of the fritz and Reiss families. There are several other ways to use the power. Like I said, the attack titan is more than a berserk titan. Inside of it, is a demon. His name is Atriox. He has been alive since Ymir fritz. The first founding titan, was given the power of the nine titans. As an ancient demon, he can use the power of the founding titan to help the attack titan's holder in battle. Which in this case is currently Eren."

Levi took this in with sincere concern on his face. "So, is this Atriox a threat too?" Annie "Only if you piss him off. He is usually a gentle creature, even though he is a several hundred-thousand-year-old ancient demon. When he does something, he takes his time. He can leave Eren's titan form anytime he wants to, and lend a hand in battle. He is not a threat. Ymir Fritz had a mutual relationship with Atriox, and they fought for the same cause, to protect the Eldian race from extinction. The one-hundred and forty-fifth king made the walls with the founding titan's power. He put the colossus titan's inside the wall, and threatened every race that wanted to harm the Eldians, that he would send the colossus titans to wreak havoc upon the world if his people were harmed in any way. By doing this, he earned the respect of Atriox. Atrioxes job was to make sure every person with the founding titans ability, protects the Eldian race, and will himself, kill any holder of the founding titan who does not obey Ymir Fritz's law." Levi was taking notes, while Eren had fallen asleep in Annie's lap.

Chapter 7

Annie was starting to get tired of answering Levi's questions. Although, her determination to be free from her cell kept her going. She was not prepared for Levi's final question. Levi "What are the Marleyans fighting for, exactly?" Annie had to really think to herself. Why was she fighting for the Marlayans? And most importantly, if she was fighting for the Marlayans, then she was helping to wipe out the Eldian race? Annie turned to face him. "I honestly don't know what the Marlayans are fighting for. All I know is that they want the founding titan's power to control the mindless titans and colossus alike, and wreak havoc upon their enemies." Levi nodded his head, and jotted down several more notes before getting up. "Very, well. I'll see about getting commander Pixus to let you defend wall Rose with Eren and Ymir." Annie shook her head in acknowledgement. Levi looked down at Eren, who was fast asleep. "EREN! Get up." Annie pouted. "Wait…does he have to go? Can't he stay a little while longer? It gets lonely in here." Levi sighed, and relented. "Fine, but he must leave in five hours, for that's when his training session with Hanji starts." Annie looked up, startled. "You mean training him in his titan form?" Levi turned to face her. "Yes." Without another word Levi left the room, leaving Annie alone with Eren. Annie suddenly realized just then, that Bertolt and Reiner would kill her if they found out that she gave their identities away.

Levi entered the commander's office. ( _This was where all the commander's, captains, and section commanders could hang out in peace._ ) Everyone was there, and Levi approached Commander Pixus. Levi "Commander Pixus, I got Annie to talk. Well…, Eren did. She told us some interesting and disturbing things. I'll tell you what she said later. Now Eren asked me whether she could join him and Ymir in defending wall Rose." Commander Pixus spat out his tea, and everyone in the room started to shout in anger, hurling insults about Annie at each other. Levi grew tired of the way they talked about Annie. She wasn't a bad person, she was just misunderstood. "ENOUGH!" everyone stopped shouting, and looked at Levi, surprise showing on their faces. Levi "Stop talking about Annie like that. I learned more about her during interrogation than I could have in several years. She's not evil. She just knows to trust nobody, and to follow orders without question."

Commander Pixus "Tell me, Levi. How is that?" Levi glared at Pixus. "The Marleyan government told her to come here. She grew up believing in orders, and refused to disobey them. The punishment for her disobeying a given task, is death. So even if she hated to kill innocent people to complete her mission, she had no choice. She could have chosen to die here, or return to Marley empty-handed, and die there." Everyone in the room started to understand what Annie's motives were that day. Commander Pixus "Why does Eren want her with him?" Levi "Eren and Annie…like each other. Where Eren goes, Annie will follow. It is the same thing with Mikasa Ackerman following Eren, only she follows him to protect him." Commander Pixus started to see the connection. "One question, if I may?" Levi nodded. Pixus "Does Annie's titan form have any special abilities?" Levi though for a second before answering. "So far, she has been able to turn parts of her body into solid diamond. Also, she and Ymir could let us know if Eren uses his founding titan powers by accident. Somehow, they can feel his anger when he releases the founding titan's power. Annie has admitted that she is terrified of Eren's newfound power, which says a lot. The only person that could get her to talk was Eren. She wasn't even scared of me."

One of the female captains by the name of Rico, spoke. "I just don't get one thing. If Eren liked Annie…and Annie like Eren, then why didn't they hang out before all of this happened? Was Annie afraid of something?" Levi caught on to what Rico said in a heartbeat. "Shit! I forgot to mention that Reiner and Bertolt from the one-hundred and fourth cadet core were involved in the mission that Annie had as well. Although, we don't know what titan forms they have, or how dangerous they are." Commander Pixus spoke out for everybody in the room. "We need to go see Annie right away, and see what she can tell us about her friends." Levi "Okay, I'll walk you guys there. Oh, and be quiet when we get inside the building. I wouldn't be surprised to find that they were asleep." Everyone stopped and looked at him like he was crazy. Levi saw that even commander Erwin looked at him the same way the others did. Levi sighed. "Right. I left Eren in there with Annie. He fell asleep in Annie's lap when I was asking questions." Everyone nodded, now realizing what Levi meant when he said "We" earlier.

Annie was leaned up against the wall, with Eren still fast asleep in her lap. She sat there watching him breathe in and out. He occasionally mumbled in his sleep every now and then. She wondered when Levi would get back. Hopefully, she would be allowed to be with Eren and Ymir while they defended wall Rose. She was startled as Eren suddenly sat up, and turned his head towards the door. Annie watched as he rubbed his eyes, then whispered. "Someone is coming." Eren turned out to be right, for the door opened, and Levi entered, with a lot of people following him. Levi "Sorry Annie, but we need to ask you about Reiner and Bertolt. Which titans are they, and are they dangerous?" As Annie looked at Levi, realization dawned on her face. "Wait, you want to know if they are dangerous. Well, that's simple, they could both kill me in my titan form if I fought them. Bertolt is the Colossus titan. He can poke his head over wall rose in his titan form. As for Reiner, he is the armored titan. You won't be able to kill him with your blades. You need a lot of cannon fire to crack his armor, then hit him with your blades. Their weaknesses are that they are both slow in their titan forms."

Levi nodded "Okay. Now do you know why they are slow?" Annie "They were sent with me to smash through wall Maria. Although, I did not take part in that. My job was to find the coordinate." Everyone in the room except Levi and Erwin gasped when Annie revealed who smashed through wall Maria. Annie continued to talk. "Bertolt kicked in the main wall, and Reiner smashed through the secondary gate. If you want to take down Reiner, you will need the attack titan to do it. And if you want to take down Bertolt…well, you won't be able to." Commander Pixus "Are you saying we can't take down one of your pathetic friends?" Annie angrily stood up. "Let's get one thing straight old man. First, they are not my friends. Second, if I can't kill Bertolt, then you sure as hell can't do any better. Thirdly, I trained in Marley with Bertolt. Cannon fire does not hurt him, and he can release steam from his body that will kill anyone that gets too close to him. Lastly, he's not stupid. He will not transform inside the city, and he will wear 3DM gear, so he can disappear into the crowd within seconds when he needs to make a quick getaway. The only downside to his powers, is that the longer he uses them, the weaker he gets." Commander Pixus listened with interest. He let the "Old man" comment slide. "So, let's capture them when they have calmed down." Levi sighed in frustration. This was going to be another long, boring day, just like most of his other days as a wings of freedom fighter.

Chapter 8

Everyone left the room, except for Annie who was forced to stay behind. The commanders had not decided whether not they wanted to release her just yet. Levi had left Eren with Annie, for he was sure Eren would have stayed in there with her for the rest of his life if he could. Pixus suggested they look for Reiner and Bertolt inside of the boy's dorms, for that was where they usually hung out. Levi did not want to go search for them just yet. He knew that waiting until they thought it was safe was the best choice. Levi turned to face commander Pixus. "Sir, I think we should wait until they think they are in the clear." Commander Pixus nodded in agreement. "I think you are right. We should prepare a sneaky attack once they've calmed down a bit." Levi and Pixus stopped walking, and the others followed suit. Pixus turned around. "Change of plans. We are going to wait for Reiner and Bertolt to calm down a bit. In the meantime, we can think of a plan on how to ambush them when the time comes."

Reiner and Bertolt walked out of the boy's dormitory. They were freaking out. Reiner cast a worried glance at Bertolt. "See any MP's around?" Bertolt looked around. "None so far. At least from what I can see." Reiner sighed in relief. They had been sneaking around the city for two days, trying not to be seen by any MP's. Bertolt and Reiner were shocked when they saw that Annie was caught. They knew that it would only be a matter of time before she cracked under pressure, and told the commanders about their mission. Reiner and Bertolt knew that if they found out, it would make their mission twice as hard to complete. Bertolt kept insisting that Annie would never sell them out to the scouts. Reiner knew better than to believe that Annie would hold out until they had captured Eren, and left the city. Bertolt and Reiner told each other that they would go back to rescue her, although they doubted she would still be alive by the time they got back.

Reiner and Bertolt silently made their way to the underground, making sure not to alert any guards. They reached the prison cell where Annie was being held. Reiner whistled in surprise. "Man, they are serious when it comes to making prison cells. This steel door has to be at least several inches thick." Bertolt nodded in agreement. Bertolt didn't realize that the scouts were this advanced in technology. He whispered to Reiner. "We need to get out of here before were caught." Reiner "Agreed." The two left as quietly as they had come, and returned to the boy's dormitory at the far end of the city. The next morning Eren woke up from a sound sleep, and found that he had been sleeping on a stone floor. Annie "Well, look who is up. You know, you could have slept somewhere else." Eren sat up slowly, and yelped out loud when he felt a sharp pain in his chest and ribs. He felt like he had slept on his spine sometime during the night. Annie held back a giggle. "You are so stupid sometimes." Eren smiled. "You can say that again." He looked around him and realized that he was still in the cell with Annie. "Where's Captain Levi?" Annie "He went with the others to go find Reiner and Bertolt." Eren walked towards the door, and left. Annie was sitting there, angry by the fact that he didn't even bother to say goodbye. It was quiet once more, and she realized that it was going to be another long day.

Eren walked down the hall, and began to make his way up the stairs. He bumped into Levi, who was carrying a huge board with string wrapped around it, and some trigger mechanism was also attached. Levi "Whoa kid, watch it!" Eren jumped in surprise. "Right, sorry sir!" it took Levi a few seconds to recognize that it was Eren he just yelled at. Levi "Oh, sorry Eren. Didn't realize it was you." Eren "Right sir." Levi suddenly wondered where Eren was all night, for he had not helped him and the other commanders build a trap for Reiner and Bertolt. "Hey, where were you last night?" Eren reached up and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Um… I was left inside Annie's cell, remember?" Oh…Levi _remembered_ all right. "And? Did you notice anything strange outside the door last night?" Eren shook his head. "No. Why?" Levi let out a weary sigh. "Kid, it seems Reiner and Bertolt paid Annie's cell door a little visit last night. They were studying it, trying to figure out a way to get inside."

Eren just stood there, with a shocked expression on his face. Levi "Wow. You never noticed anything?" Eren "No. honestly, I had no idea that Reiner and Bertolt were right outside of Annie's cell door last night. I was asleep." Levi "Well, you can help me set this little mechanism up and get it running. This is going to slam a massive doohickey down on anyone who moves this string, taking them out for a long time." Eren nodded. Levi walked over to Annie's prison door, and started building the trap. Eren "Um, what if Annie activates the trap?" Levi sighed. "Then that would mean Annie would be our enemy again." Eren didn't like what Levi said. "How come you think that? She could have just been stretching her legs. You guys did give her some leeway. Not to mention, let her walk around outside of her cell, as long as she returned to it after five minutes." Levi "Good point, Eren. Besides, what would she gain by talking to Reiner and Bertolt? She did say they would kill her if they found out that she gave away vital information regarding their mission."

Eren "Well, that's true." They both became silent, and started working again. It was Eren that broke the silence one last time. "Levi?" Levi looked up briefly from his work. "Yes?" Eren looked at him. "Do you think we could get Annie an actual bed in her cell, and a blanket?" Levi stopped working, and faced Eren. "Look kid. I know you love her, but we can't give her too much leeway. If we start treating her like a queen, she'll start thinking she can do anything she wants. I can get her a blanket, but I'm not giving her a bed. She can have a mattress, though." Eren nodded. "I understand. One more question. Have you ever fallen in love? People say that you like Petra and Hanji." Levi glared at Eren. "I'm going to pretend you never said that. You should count yourself lucky. Very few people would get away with saying something like that. However, you saved my skin when you got Annie to talk." Eren stepped back a few feet from Levi, making sure that he wasn't within Levi's infamous kicking distance. Eren "I was just asking. Besides, don't you want to be honest about it, and help me out?" Levi sighed. "Fine, kid. Yes, I do like Petra and Hanji. Well… Hanji more or less so. ( _Hanji is known to be a little crazy, and is a total nerd.)_ And no, I haven't been out dating them, for they can't make up their minds on whether to go out with me or not." Eren realized he asked too soon. "Oh. Sorry I asked." Levi "Its fine." Eren decided to forget asking Levi another question, and instead helped him finish the infernal contraption he was so focused on making. Annie was sitting inside of her cell, and heard everything that the two men had said. She liked the fact that Eren had offered to get her a bed. Although, she wished they wouldn't build the "trap" right in front of her door. However, she decided to intervene personally.

Chapter 9

Eren and Levi had just finished working when they heard Annie cough. They turned towards the door, and saw her standing there, staring at the contraption they had just built with disapproval showing on her face. Eren blushed, and Levi just stared at Annie with no expression on his face whatsoever. Eren looked at Levi, hoping he would explain what they were doing. Levi just turned to Eren. "Don't look at me, she's your girlfriend." Eren sighed. "Fine" Annie turned to look at Eren. "So, could you tell me why there is some weird contraption in front of my cell door?" Eren just stood there, frozen in place. He didn't know what to say. Eren "Um… you'll have to ask Levi about that. He brought it down here." Eren could hear Levi mutter something under his breath. He obviously was not happy. Levi "Really, Eren? I told you that she was your girlfriend! I have enough stuff to do than sit here and explain what this thing is." Eren "Sorry to piss you off, but you didn't exactly tell me what its function was. You just said that it would hurt whoever activated it." Levi "Okay, fine. Maybe I wasn't very clear with you. But she's still your girlfriend." Annie looked at Eren with piercing eyes. "Well Eren, will this contraption end up killing me if I get hit with it?" Eren now glared at Levi. "Well Levi, does it?" Levi looked down at the ground, and said nothing.

They waited for five minutes before Levi looked at them again "I honestly don't know. You would have to talk to Captain Rico about that. I think it would just knock somebody out cold." Annie gave Eren a look that said "Well, are you going to go take me to go find out whether this trap kills people or not?" Eren "Very well. Come on Annie. Let's go ask Captain Rico." Eren and Annie began to walk up the stairs. When they found Captain Rico. She was asleep a desk. There were papers and documents everywhere, and a bookshelf placed by the desk had books all just shoved inside the shelves. It was very unfortunate that Eren was the first one to walk in. it would eventually out that Rico had placed the same trap Levi had set by Annie's door, by _her_ door as well. Eren had his face smashed by a piece of metal, and hit the floor with a loud bang. Annie was freaking out, because she though the trap had killed Eren. Rico woke up in surprise when the trap activated, and saw Eren on the floor, and saw Annie was out of her cell. Rico "what the hell?! Why are you out of your cell? And why is Eren unconscious on the floor?"

Annie was about to say something when Levi burst in the room. "What's going on?" Annie pointed at Rico. "Ask her." Levi shrugged his shoulders, for he had nothing to say. Annie "Rico had a trap in her office, and I think she killed Eren!" Levi rushed over to Eren, and took a closer look. While he was checking to see if Eren was still alive, Rico and Annie started going at it. Annie "You killed Eren!" Rico "He isn't dead! I told you that already!" Annie "And I'm supposed to just believe that?!" Levi interrupted them. "I think you two need to stop. You're giving Eren a headache." He then pointed to Eren, who had sat up, and was rubbing his head. Annie giggled in delight, and rushed over to Eren. Levi just looked on with an annoyed look on his face. "So, I guess Annie is the one in charge of this relationship of yours Eren?" Eren "Yeah, pretty much." Annie stifled a giggle. "Of course, I am. He wouldn't get around without me. He only got around when Mikasa took care of him. Now, I take care of him, being his girlfriend and all. I think he just said that to you, because we never officially decided. However, I love him to death, and so am now his girlfriend. Which means I have officially decided."

Levi "Wow, really Annie?" Annie shrugged her shoulders, then got serious. She turned to Rico. "What were you thinking?! I want that trap removed from my cell door." Captain Rico looked at Annie, anger clearly shown on her face. "What?! Did you just give me an order!" Annie "Yes, I just did, and I don't care if you are a Captain or not. Nobody puts a random contraption in front of my cell door without asking me first." Levi nodded in agreement. "She's right, Rico. She is still a valuable prisoner, and may have additional information on our enemies." Eren "I love to hear that everyone is solving their issues right now, but can someone have a look at my head? I'm not feeling so good." Levi quickly made his way to Eren. "Let's get him to someone who knows more about head trauma than I do." Annie ran over to Eren, shoving Levi out of the way. "He has head trauma?" Levi picked himself up from the floor. "Yes. Apparently, that piece of metal hit him harder than I had anticipated it would."

Annie was sitting there, poking Erens head. Levi threw his hands up. "For crying out loud, what did you not get when I said he could have head trauma?" Annie stopped poking Eren's head, and shrugged at Levi. "I don't get what you mean." Levi slapped his forehead. "I mean, do you really think poking your boyfriends head is going to help his condition?" Annie suddenly realized what Levi was getting at. "Oh. You mean that I shouldn't be poking his head." Levi "Exactly." Annie moved back from Eren, and let Levi take him to the medical barracks. She turned around and saw that Captain Rico had left the room. She decided to go back to her cell, since nobody was around to vouch for her… if she got caught. Annie made her way to the medical barracks, where she found Eren throwing a big fit with the medical staff. He kept on saying that his head was fine, and that Captain Rico should be charged for placing a dangerous contraption in her own work office. As Annie continued to listen, she heard him say "For what likely reason, would she need a trap that knocks people out? I just don't get it!" Annie decided to intervene, for Eren's was starting to get quite angry, and that usually leads to a fight. Eren was busy thinking about what to hit the medical staff with, when Annie walked in the room.

Annie "Just calm down, silly. They are just checking you for any head trauma." Eren looked up at Annie with a hurt look on his face. "Wait, what?! You're siding with them?" Annie let out a sigh. Eren could be a hassle to deal with sometimes. "No, I'm just saying that you need to let them do their job." Eren gave up. There was really no point in arguing when Annie had something to say. "Fine. But they better not wrap my head in toilet paper." The medical staff swarmed around him, checking for signs of possible head trauma. Ten minutes later, they backed off, and turned to Annie. "He's good to go. We didn't find any severe injuries to worry about. Eren "What did I tell you?! I was perfectly fine!" Annie just smiled and took him out of the room, and back to her cell. She didn't like to be alone, and was thinking about making a temporary sleeping spot for Eren, so they could stay together several days during the week without him having to leave every day. Not that he did, it was just that she went a little paranoid when he wasn't there. Eren saw that Annie was deep in thought, and decided to ask what was on her mind. Eren "Hey, Annie. What are you thinking about?" Annie jumped in fright, her thoughts interrupted. "Oh, Nothing. It's nothing." Eren sighed. He wished he could know everything that went on in her head. Annie stopped when she reached her cell door. She looked at Eren and nodded at the unconscious body in front of her door. Somehow, Bertolt and Reiner found out where her prison cell was located, and tried to enter.

Chapter 10

It became clear to Annie that Bertolt wasn't very smart after all. The trap had gone off, and knocked him out. Of Reiner, there was no sign. Annie knew that if Reiner saw that Bertolt had gotten himself knocked out by a trap devised by the clever Captain Rico, he would have fled the scene. Eren on the other hand, was very concerned about Reiner's whereabouts. Annie and Eren suddenly turned face the door, as somebody of short stature moved behind it. They relaxed as Captain Levi walked out. Levi looked at them with a dull expression. "What?" Annie "Did you do this?" Levi rolled his eyes. "How could you possibly think that I did this? If I had set off the trap, I would be the unlucky asshole on the ground right now." Annie saw the reason of what he just explained to her. "So, what do we do with Bertolt?" Levi's head snapped up at the name "Bertolt." Levi "Wait, your telling me that those two were actually stupid enough to try and break you out of your cell?" Annie "That, or tried to kill me." Levi nodded. "In that case, we do need to do something about him then." Eren "I say we take him to Commander Erwin." Levi liked where Eren train of thought was headed. "That's a great idea. We could have Erwin beat the little snot until he tells us what he was doing in front of Annie's cell." Eren "Then we could make fun of him for letting a trap that was literally right in front of the door, knock him out."

Annie realized that they were going to hurt Bertolt. "Wait guys. I think we should take him to Commander Pixus. He can get information from him without using brute force. If that doesn't work, then we just send him to Hanji." Eren and Levi turned to face Annie. Eren "Are you kidding? That bastard broke through wall Maria, allowing my mother to get eaten!" Annie "Eren! You should know that nobody kills unless they have a reason to. The same punishment was in store for Reiner and Bertolt, just as it was for me!" Eren wasn't hearing any of it. Levi swung Bertolt over his shoulder, and walked off with Eren following close behind. Annie couldn't believe Eren would just do that to her. Bertolt was nice to many people, and ne never wanted to kill anybody. Reiner on the other hand, did not care for human lives. He killed whenever he wanted to, and did not feel any pity. She couldn't follow Eren and Levi to Erwin's office. He was a ruthless, efficient killer. He never showed any emotion on his face, so you never knew what he was going to do. Annie walked back to her cell and shut the door. She didn't want to be around Eren for a long time to come, for he let his anger control his decisions. She sat there for what seemed like several hours, when her cell door opened, and Erwin walked in carrying a bloodied and beaten Bertolt. Annie's cell had a door in the left wall. Erwin walked over to this door, and tossed Bertolt inside. Annie saw that it was a prison cell just like hers.

Erwin shut the door, and left without saying a word. He came back inside five minutes later carrying a mattress and blanket. He carefully set them down in the middle of the room, then walked out once more. Annie had a feeling she would see him again. She was right, for Erwin walked back in with another blanket, and a medical kit. He walked past Annie, and opened the door to Bertolt's cell. He walked inside, and Annie heard him tending to Bertolt's wounds. She realized then that people just said that Erwin was ruthless, and showed no mercy. Up close, he was merciful and kind. Annie was grateful that Erwin took the time to tend to Bertolt's wounds. He finished, then left once more. All was quiet again.

Annie sat there all alone. She didn't want to see Eren again. She still loved him…just not right at this moment. It was unfortunate that Eren decided to enter the room at that exact moment. Annie turned to face the wall. "Leave me alone Eren. I don't like what you just did." Eren was stumped at first, then he realized what she meant. "Oh, you mean the thing with Bertolt. Yeah, I thought Levi meant that we were going to beat him senseless if he didn't answer our questions at first, but _nooo_. Levi and Erwin just started beating the poor kid the second he woke up." Annie "And this is supposed to make me feel better…How?" Eren "Look. I screwed up. I realize that I shouldn't have been vouching for beating someone senseless. But you have to realize, If Bertolt had not kicked a hole in the wall, then my mother would still be alive. And not to mention that he attacked the city. True, he might not like to kill people, but he had a choice. He could have snuck inside the walls, and completed his mission. He didn't have to kick a hole in the wall right where my house was!" Annie didn't say anything. She ignored Eren, hoping that he would go away, and leave her in peace. Eren "Annie? Did you hear what I just said?" no response. Eren sighed. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow? That's if you're in the mood to talk to me." Annie still kept quiet. She listened as Eren shut the door.

Eren entered the Officer's lunchroom, and saw the section commander, Hanji. She was launching food at the wall…and making a mess. ( _Told you she was crazy.)_ Eren coughed. Hanji turned to see Eren standing there. "What are you doing in the officer's lunchroom? This is an area for officers only." Eren "I know. I wanted to ask you something." Hanji "sure. What is it?" Eren "it's about Annie." Hanji "what about her?" Eren "I don't know what to say to her. She is mad at me for agreeing to have Erwin beat Bertolt senseless, when he is the reason my mother died. And I need to know what to do, because I don't want to lose her." Hanji sighed. "You need to give her some space. Usually when a girl does that to you, it means that she needs some time alone to think about whether she wants to forgive you or not. Technically, it's up to her to decide." Eren nodded his understanding. "Oh, Levi has information on how well the trap performed." Hanji "So I heard." What Eren didn't know, was that she was stifling a giggle. Eren left Hanji in the lunchroom, and headed back to Annie's cell. He knocked on the door, and Annie did not answer. Eren shrugged his shoulders, and opened the door. Annie was still sitting with her back faced to the door, just the way she was when he left.

Eren "You're still mad, aren't you?" Annie still did not answer him. Eren was getting frustrated, but kept calm for Annie sake. He silently walked over to Annie and sat down beside her. Annie growled at Eren, and he moved back a few inches. She didn't know why Eren was so persistent to be by her after she told him to leave her alone. "I said go away, Eren. Did you not get that the first time?" Eren didn't move from his spot. "I don't want to lose you over some disagreement we had. I asked Hanji what to do, and she told me to give you some space." Annie blew a strand of hair from her face. "Well, she's right. You need to give me some space, and let me calm down a little." She expected Eren to stay right where he was, and ignore her request for him to leave her alone. Instead, Eren left the room. Annie was amazed at how much effort he was putting into keeping her happy. She realized that she must have freaked him out when she wouldn't respond to his questions. She knew that he would be back in a few hours, and faced the wall once more. As she sat in the corner of the room, she wondered what to say to him when he came back in a few hours.

Chapter 11

Eren left Annie' cell. He was worried that Annie would leave him, because he could not keep his anger under control. He rounded the corner and bumped into Armin, his best friend. Armin "Woah, dude! Where have you been?! Hanji was going to kill me if I didn't find you! We need to get to the training grounds right away! Oh, and fair warning, Ymir's pissed. She and Historia/Christa, had an argument not five minutes earlier." Eren wasn't in the mood to listen to Armin ramble on all day. Eren "Yeah, sure. I'll be at practice Armin." He then left Armin in the hallway, and made his way out of the underground, only to be blinded temporarily by the sun. Eren took a moment for his eyes to adjust before heading to the training grounds. He soon arrived to find an angry Ymir and Hanji screaming at each other. Eren told himself that he wasn't going to put up with their bullshit right now. He bit down on his hand, and transformed. The two girls didn't notice him transform. Eren walked right up to them and roared, stomping his foot down beside them. Ymir and the section commander were knocked back several yards. Eren then looked down upon Ymir, who had stopped what she was doing, and was looking up at him with fearful eyes. He then turned to look at Hanji, who was daring him to squash her. ( _The attack titan's name means freedom. In other words, I would be saying that Eren was telling Ymir and Hanji "hey, we can't become a country free of titans if you two can't get along with each other.")_

Eren left his titan form, and made his way over to Hanji. "Are you two finished bitching at each other, or do I need to squash you both? Because I _will_ squash you both if it comes to that." Hanji didn't look happy, and Ymir looked ashamed of herself. Eren soon realized why she looked ashamed. Historia was standing on the other side of the practice field, and shaking her head in disappointment at Ymir. Eren walked over to Historia. "Is there a reason your still here?" Historia narrowed her eyes. "Got a problem with it, boy?" Eren held back his anger. "I wouldn't call me boy, miss " _I don't want to become queen, and save my_ _gradually dying subjects._ "Historia looked down at the ground in shame, and Eren knew he had gotten it through to her that he wasn't going to take bullshit from a Reiss bloodline, who can't even get over her fear of becoming queen in order to help her people. Ymir was standing a few feet away the entire time this was going on. She wasn't going to face Eren's wrath, even if her only friend in the world, was being insulted. However, Hanji still wasn't impressed by Eren's display of power.

Hanji "I think you need to show a little respect to your superior officers, Yeager!" Eren rolled his eyes, and glared at Hanji. "I think you need to get your shit together, and remember what we're fighting for, and quit yelling at each other like a bunch of animals! Don't you think we have lost enough of our people to those damn titans, while all of you high class officers have been arguing about politics up in your state of the art offices!" Hanji stopped and gave Eren a dark glare. Historia and Ymir backed up several yards, just to be safe. Historia had never seen this side of Eren before. She had always thought him to be the one to speak his mind to other scouts…but never to his commanding officers. She was pretty sure that Annie, his girlfriend, heard him from her cell in the underground. And boy, she wasn't disappointed. Annie came charging out of the underground tunnels, and she was headed straight for Eren and Hanji. Hanji saw Annie coming towards them out of the corner of her eye, and suspected that she was going to attack her. Hanji pulled a whistle out of her pocket, and blew into it. A loud noise emitted from her whistle, alerting the scouts to the danger of a possible titan attack.

Within seconds, dozens of scouts were everywhere. Eren saw that Mikasa and Captain Levi were headed straight for Annie, and that their intent was to kill her this time. Eren knew he wouldn't let that happen, for Annie could never obtain the willpower to transform again after killing so many innocents. Eren brought his hand to his mouth, and bit down. Eren transformed into the attack titan, and charged at Mikasa and Levi. He didn't want to hurt them, but he would not let Annie be killed. Mikasa and Levi were coming towards Annie at full speed. Annie had an expression of shock on her face. "What did she do this time?" Mikasa started in surprise when she saw Eren charge at them. "What the-" it was all she had time to say, for Eren had grabbed her in mid-air. Levi attempted to cut Eren to pieces. The kid may have saved his ass several times, but this? It was just outrageous. He suddenly felt his breath leave his body, as he got slammed by Erens massive hand, and was rocketed through a window. Eren dropped Mikasa on a nearby building, then turned and roared at the group of scouts about to cut down Annie where she stood. Eren then walked over, picked her up, and then climbed over the wall. Everyone was stunned. How could Eren do that after all they had been through? They had no answers to the hundreds of questions that swirled inside their heads.

Meanwhile Eren had taken Annie into the forest, and placed her in one of the giant trees that inhabited the landscape, out of the titans reach. Eren himself then got out of his titan form, and got on the same branch Annie was on. Annie glared at him. "What in the hell did you just do?! Are you fucking crazy?!" Eren shrugged his shoulders, then looked at Annie calmly. "I did what I had to do in order to keep you safe from the scouts." Annie couldn't believe what Eren was saying. "So, you _had_ to take us outside the walls? And how did you even scale the wall like that?" Eren just shrugged his shoulders once again. "I don't know. I just scaled it." Annie sighed in frustration. "Do you even know how screwed we are? We don't have food, water, or even a blanket to shelter us from the cold!" Eren once again shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you. At least we have each other." Annie held her anger in the best she could. She still wasn't ready to go out with Eren again. "I have a feeling you took me over the wall so we could sort out our recent mess of when you and I had that argument." Eren gasped in utter shock. "The fuck?! I got us over the wall so you would be safe from the scouts!" Annie shot back at him. "How does this make our situation any better than when we were inside the walls? We had food and shelter inside the walls. Out here, we are surrounded by _titans_ Eren, titans…that would gladly eat us, if they got the chance."

Eren sighed in frustration. He knew he fucked up. "Well, I guess we better get some sleep." Annie nodded in agreement. "It's getting dark anyway." The sun had sunk down to the earth at an incredible pace, and Eren decided it was time to bond with Annie once more. "I guess we have to sleep with each other, since we have no blanket." Annie grudgingly agreed. Even though she didn't want Eren by her…for she was still mad, she didn't have a choice. It was either that, or freeze to death during the night. And she knew that Eren would never let her freeze. She laid down in the middle of the massive branch next to Eren, who was already curled up. She let him pull her close, and she didn't want to admit it, but she was starting to get over the fact that he pissed her off so many times in several days. Eren let her snuggle up to him. "I hope an abnormal titan doesn't find us here." Annie turned to look at him. "Don't ruin the moment." Eren turned red. "Oh, right. Sorry." Annie sighed happily, then fell asleep in Eren's arms. She wondered how they would survive out here for the next several days.

Chapter 12

Eren was woken up sometime in the middle of the night by an abnormal titan that was walking around their tree. He needed to wake up Annie, and fast. He shook her roughly, even though he knew he would probably get slapped for it. "Annie, wake up! We've got a situation!" Annie woke up with a start, and looked to where Eren was pointing. "Shit! Eren, you just had to say something about an abnormal titan before we went to bed, didn't you?" Eren threw up his hands. "Annie! How was I supposed to know that was going to happen?" Annie rolled her eyes. "We need to get away from that thing before it knocks the tree down!" Eren whined. "I'm cold." Annie stopped pointing at the abnormal titan and gave Eren a perplexed look. " _Really?!_ You moron! You say you're _cold_ when there is an abnormal titan attacking us! I should kick your ass right now!" Eren waved his hand dismissively. "Unfortunately, you don't have time for that…do you?" Annie gave him a creepy smile. "There is always a time for that _after_ we get out of this mess that you got us in." Eren "What?! How is this my fault? I didn't decide to take a stroll through the forest, and walk up to this certain tree, and hopefully _grab_ a midnight snack!" Annie decided to ignore him. She had to find a way to get them out of their current situation. What was worse, is that Eren put them in a tree, with no way to get down safely! How she would seriously have killed someone for some 3DM gear right now.

As usual, it was Eren who lost his head in combat first. He had a knife with him, and he jumped down from the tree, and cut his hand with the knife as he fell. She could only watch as he transformed, then smashed his fist into the abnormal titan's face, literally taking its head off. However, she could only get angry at him, for he just had to roar victoriously, which attracted the attention of several other abnormal titans. Annie jumped on his shoulder, and Eren ran out of the forest with her on his shoulder. Annie then crawled inside the mouth of his titan form, and found him inside of the titan, controlling it. She grabbed the knife from his pocket, then crawled back out of his mouth, only to jump off him. Annie cut herself with the knife, and transformed into her titan form. After all, two titans had a better chance of survival then just one fending off a horde of titans alone. Annie caught up with Eren after a few minutes. She had to admit, he looked pretty hot in his titan form with all those abs and rippling muscles. However, she put dirty thoughts of him out of her mind, and focused on getting away from the titans following them.

Eren surprised her by turning around, and charging the large group of titans that were chasing them. She watched as Eren's eyes turned from bright green, to a bright red, and something that looked like fire emitted from his titan form. Eren batted aside the first wave of titans like they were nothing, and the second wave was just as easily dispatched as well. Eren had never felt so alive. The thrill of letting his anger out on these poor bastards who didn't stand a chance was actually satisfying to him. He enjoyed it when simply smashed some titans face to a pulp with a single punch. It wasn't until he kicked the last titan the distance of several football fields, was when his thirst for combat abated. Annie was standing there in her titan form, now realizing why he was considered one of the strongest titan shifters. Even though he had no special abilities, save for his berserk mode, he was still a threat to humanity if he ever lost control. She knew she couldn't compete with that kind of power if he ended up using it on her. But, she knew that he wouldn't do that, because he loved her.

The one thing about Eren that made her feel tingly inside, was the fact that he never left her to fend for herself. Even during their training, it was like he was her guardian angel, keeping a watchful eye on her. Her thoughts were interrupted when Eren appeared beside her, and he still looked like he was going to burst into an outrage any second. Instead, he pointed at the sky, and when she looked, she realized that it was almost sunrise. She couldn't believe that a fight that ended so fast could have taken so long. Either way, she and Eren needed to get as far as possible from wall Rose, for the scouts were surely out there, looking to get revenge. She wondered why Eren wasn't scared of Levi all of a sudden. Even though he swatted him through a window. She knew Levi was going to want revenge. After they had traveled several miles, they released control of their titan forms. Annie "Eren…aren't you worried about Levi coming to take your head off?" Eren stopped. Of course, he remembered when he knocked Levi through a window. Although, he could care less what Levi thought of him now. Levi wasn't a bad guy. It was just that he and Mikasa went too far when they were set on killing the woman he loved. Not to mention the fact that Mikasa turned against him really pissed him off.

Eren turned to face Annie "I could care less what Levi thinks about me, or whether not he wants revenge. He can kiss my ass. All I can say is that the next time he tries to kill you, I'll make sure I finish the job this time, instead of simply swatting him through a window." Annie's eyes widened in surprise at Eren's bold statement. "Wow. Um, I didn't think you would do that for me." Eren pulled her close to him. "I would do anything for you. You should know that by now. I put my ass on the line for you back in the city, didn't I?" Annie nodded in agreement. Eren looked around. "Do you know where that place you lived before you went to Marley is?" Annie looked at him like he was crazy. "You mean my village?" Eren sighed. You came from a place called Eldia, am I correct? For it would seem you lived in a village before you were forced to go to Marley to become a warrior." Annie nodded. "Yes, I did live in a village before I was forced to go to Marley to become a warrior. But how does this help us in our current situation?" Eren took the time to give her question some thought. "I think if we stayed in your village…then we would have some shelter from the titan's. That is, if your village is still standing." Annie had to give him some credit. He was using his brain for once. Not to mention the fact that he came up with a plan to head to her home village, where she might still have her grandfather living there. "Let's head there and see if it is still standing." Eren "Then it's decided." Annie looked around them. "Let's see…so were headed northeast. We need to go this way." Eren saw that she was pointing northwest. "Okay. Let's go."

Annie grabbed his arm. "Hold on a second, silly. We need to gather some supplies if we want to reach my village without dying of starvation or thirst." Eren "Um…didn't think about that." Annie rolled her eyes. "Of course you didn't" Eren took a few steps toward her, and wiped some sweat off her brow. "I think you need to rest a bit." Annie looked at him like he was a deranged monkey. "Now tell me, _where_ are we going to rest? We left the forest last night when we were running from those titans." Eren felt the need to correct her. " _You_ ran from the titans. I turned back and killed them." Annie thought back to last night, when Eren massacred the titans chasing them. It was true that she did run from them, but only because there were too many for her too handle. Eren looked around at the surrounding area, and realized that they should get going. "Let's get going. So far, there are no titans around. However, that could change." Annie nodded, and started to lead the way to her village.

Chapter 13

Annie and Eren had been walking for several days. Sometime along the way, they stopped at a river, and Eren gathered some food and water. They arrived at the village the next day. Eren stopped before the tree line that separated the titan territory from civilization. Annie looked at Eren, tears filling her eyes. "Well, this is Eldia. I'm finally home." Eren didn't have time to answer back, for a massive titan with rippling muscles, and glowing red eyes appeared before them. Eren saw that it was at least nineteen meters tall, and did not look happy. Eren transformed into the attack titan, and stood before the other titan, which towered over him. Annie jumped back in surprise at the titan that had suddenly arrived. A strange feeling in her gut told her that this wasn't just another mindless titan. This was a different feeling. She remembered her father telling her stories of a race of titans called "The order" her father also told her that they were a serious threat. Annie attempted to get Eren's attention, but failed. She watched as the titan suddenly shot forward and slammed into Eren. Eren was thrown back at least the length of a football field.

He heard Annie yell something before the titan attacked him. Whatever she said, he didn't hear. However, the worried expression on her face told him that something was not right. Mindless titans were not supposed to act like that. This one seemed to have intelligence. Not to mention the fact that it had some armor plates on its shoulders that appeared before it slammed into him. Eren could feel his anger rising rapidly, and he charged back in the fight. His skin was on fire, and his berserk form took shape. The massive nineteen-meter titan of the order turned in surprise at this new change his opponent had suddenly acquired. Eren sprinted on all fours at his quarry, then swung his razor-sharp nails that grew on his hand at the titan. The nineteen-meter titan watched as his arm was ripped off. He decided to end the fight once and for all. He took in a deep breath, and spat out some sort of acid at the attack titan. Eren felt a burning sensation, and screamed in pain. He released his control of his titan, and fell down to the ground with a heavy thud. Annie freaked out when she saw Eren hit the ground. She was about to run to his side when another titan burst out of the undergrowth in the direction of her village. She recognized the titan as her grandfather, one of the most powerful warriors.

Annie's grandfather wasted no time in engaging the enemy that dared to hurt his son's daughter. He rushed at the titan, and crystalized his fist, then threw a punch that knocked the titan into the surrounding trees. He turned to face Annie. "Get that friend of yours, and get out of here!" Annie wasted no time. She grabbed Eren, and made a break for the bordering tree-line that blocked her village from sight. She kept running, even though as she pasted her village gates, but was halted soon afterwards by the headsman of her village. "What is the meaning of this? Where did you come from?" Annie stopped to pause and take a breath. Eren tapped her shoulder. "Annie, you can put me down now." she gently let Eren down onto the ground. The wounds covering his body were emitting steam, and it didn't seem to frighten the villagers." The headsman took one look at Eren, and sighed. "So boy, what were you doing with Mrs. Leonhart?" Eren didn't know if he should have taken the tone in the headsman's voice as a threat, or as a sincere question. He decided to tell them the truth. "I'm her boyfriend. And we had to leave the Eldian people who live behind the walls." The headsman took a step back. The crowd that had gathered around them gasped as well, and took a big step back.

Eren looked up at them in alarm. "What? Was it something I said?" the headsman turned to Annie. "You have become corrupted by this young man. You visited the forbidden city of the Eldians! And for that, the punishment is death!" Annie took a frightened step back. When Eren heard what they were going to do, and bit down on his hand. The blast knocked back everyone within a twenty-yard radius around Eren, and he roared a threat to the shifters around him. Annie was the only one not knocked back, and hit her head with her hand. "Oh no. Eren, you moron." Annie's grandfather took Eren's transformation as a threat, and he charged at Eren, only to be hit in the face by Eren's massive fist. He was knocked back several yards. When he got up from the ground, he stopped to take a closer look at who he was fighting. He realized that this boy had the shifter form of the attack titan. He alone knew what lived inside the boy and backed off, raising his hands to signify peace. Eren registered the sign, and lowered his fists. The headsman had other ideas, and brought his hand to his mouth, and prepared to bite down. Fortunately, Annie's grandfather stopped him in time. "Wait! That boy is the attack titan! There is an ancient demon that lives inside of that titan!" the headsman stopped, and took a closer look at Eren. "So, you are telling me that if I hurt Annie, the demon will come out of this young man's body and strike me down where I stand?"

Annie's grandfather paused, then resumed speaking. "No, not technically. The Demon inside of him means that he has the founding titan's powers, and the demon's job is to protect the founding titan from anyone foolish enough to attempt to kill the shifter who holds the founding titan's powers. The demon can use the founding titan's powers, but the boy can't. However, even as strong as you are, the attack titan is known to regenerate entire limbs within seconds. Including the power to become an unstoppable killing machine, capable of killing anyone who stands in its way. And from the fact that the boy just confessed that he loves my son's daughter, he will no doubt fight anyone who tries to kill her. After all, he managed to rip off one of the Orders arms in his berserk form." Everyone in the village gasped in shock. Nobody had managed to even hurt one of the order, not even a warrior. And suddenly, a boy who hasn't even proved himself to be a warrior, mortally wounded one of the order. Although Eren had proven his meddle by challenging the entire village, he still needed to prove to them that he was warrior material.

Annie's grandfather respected Eren, although he did not like the fact that Annie had chosen him, over someone who has already proven themselves a warrior. Deep inside he loathed the boy. But his quick judgment of Eren was to be mistaken, for he had no idea that Annie appreciated him, for he had never left her side, even when she told him to leave her side. Annie had slowly moved to stand beside Eren, when her grandfather gently pulled her back. "What are you doing? I don't think he's your type." Annie gave her grandfather an angry look. She was happy to be back in her village, and relieved to know that everyone was pretty much still alive. Although, she didn't like the way her grandfather was acting towards Eren lately. "Do you have a problem with him, because I don't." Annie's grandfather gave her an incredulous look. "Did you not see what he did just a few minutes ago?! He threatened the entire village! And not to mention the fact that he isn't even the warrior type!" Annie narrowed her eyes. "I don't care what you think he is. I expect you to respect him while he is here." Her grandfather sighed in resignation. "Very well, I'll try to respect him." Annie stared straight through him. "No. you _will_ respect him. I love him, and that's all you need to know."

Chapter 14

Annie's grandfather was taken aback by the harsh words she so boldly spat out of her mouth. He realized that the boy must mean something very dear to her, for he had never seen her act this way before in his life. "Fine, I will respect him." However, deep inside, he hated Eren. And would most certainly not respect the boy. In fact, he planned to give him such a hard time, to where he gave up hope of gaining his favor. Speaking of which, the boy had left his titan form, and had walked over to him. He planned to give him a piece of is mind. He opened his mouth to speak, but was suddenly knocked back several feet by Eren, who punched him across the face. Eren "if I ever hear you talk about me like that again, I'll make sure you don't get back on your feet, old man. Your one to talk about being a warrior. You don't think I'm a warrior? I did not turn against my own people in order to save your grand-daughter from death, _several times._ If you think I'm scared of you, then you have another thing coming. I didn't travel through hell to get here, just to have my name slandered by some _whelp_ of a man like you. And for the record, I am no _boy._ Got it?" Annie's grandfather could only sit back in humiliation. How did he manage to knock him back several feet with a single punch? And he called him old, which wasn't entirely true, for he was only in his fifties.

However, he had to admire the boy's courage. For nobody in the village except Annie, and the headsman of the village ever dared to talk to him like that. "Got it. We won't have any problems." Eren "good." Annie's grandfather watched as Eren walked off. Eren met up with Annie, who was greeting the people of her village. It had seemed that they forgot about executing her, for they were happily conversing with one another. Annie turned to face Eren. "Interesting talk you had with my grandfather back there." Eren stepped back in surprise. "Wait…you saw that?" Annie smiled. "Of course I did. Not only did I see you, but I heard every word as well. After that, I must say I'm impressed. Everyone knows not to mess with you now." Eren turned red. "I'm sure they have." Annie "I'm going to go change into something else. You should too." Eren gave her a funny look. "Really? You're going to change out of that? Man, you look pretty when you wear old smelly clothes." Annie rolled her eyes. "Sure…I look good in clothes that haven't been washed in two weeks." Eren shrugged his shoulders. "Well, you look okay to me. What I want to know, is why we didn't wash ourselves in that river on the way here." Annie turned to face him. "You do realize, that we were in titan territory, and were being chased by at least twenty titans the night before, until you went berserk and killed all of them with literally no effort what so ever."

Eren once again shrugged his shoulders. "Well, that just makes me a badass in your eyes. Am I right…or am I right?" Annie punched him in the shoulder. "I hate to admit it, but I would have been dead the moment I was captured, and from that moment on, if you hadn't have been there for Me." the villagers had gathered in a circle around them, and were letting out "Oohs" and "Aahs." Eren felt uncomfortable right then. "Um…do you guys mind? We're trying to have a moment here." The villagers quickly stopped, and went about their business. Eren turned his attention back to Annie, but she had already left to go change into new clothes. Eren couldn't help but smile, for it was the Annie he used to know. Completely confident talking about how she feels in private, then hiding somewhere no one would find her. Well…when she didn't want to be in a huge crowd and talk about her feelings.

Several days had passed, and everyone was still suspicious of Eren. Annie's grandfather's hatred grew intensely towards him, for they went at it once again. However, this time was different. At least in Annie's eyes. It started at dinner, when her grandfather tried to stab Eren with a fork. Eren had responded by transforming on the spot, picking her up, and carrying her to their cabin. She then watched as Eren moved away from their cabin and headed towards her grandfather, who had also transformed. Eren moved with incredible speed, and it stunned her. She had no idea that he could move that fast in his titan form. What made her nervous, was the fact that Eren was winning the battle. Her grandfather would swing a few expertly planned swings that were lightning fast. Eren would calmly block each swing with little effort. Then, he would maneuver around her grandfather with ease, and place one punch in his gut. The effect his blows had were extraordinary. He would now barely flinch when hit by her grandfather. As it turned out to everyone's shock, Eren had figured out how to harden parts of his body, and keep them that way for extended periods of time. She soon came to figure out that it took a lot of energy out of Eren. However, he figured out how to win a fight in a few minutes. Literally, A few minutes was all it took for him to win the fight.

The village looked up to Eren after that night. Although, Annie saw that something was bothering him. "What's wrong Eren?" she moved in close to try to comfort him. He looked at her with sad eyes. "I miss the walls, and the people that used to be my friends as well." Annie didn't know what to say, for she only remembered the bad times when she was there. The only good things she remembered, was when her and Eren bonded. Eren "I have to go back. Just once." Annie "You're not going to just leave me here. Are you?" Eren took in a deep breath. "I'll only be gone for a few days. Besides, if you came along, they would surely attack us on sight." Annie had to agree on that. "Fine, but you better be back within a week. You hear me?" Eren "I hear you," Annie had tears in her eyes when Eren left the village. She turned around. One of the village boys was standing there, holding out his hand. "So…since he's gone, want to go out?" Annie was disgusted. She punched him in the face, then left him lying there.

It took Eren several days to reach the forest that laid several miles from the walls. He transformed into his titan form, for he saw several scouts running from seven titans. One of them was an abnormal. As he looked closer, he saw that the scouts were Hanji, Levi, Mikasa, and Sasha. The titans were gaining on Sasha, so Eren decided to do something about it. He ran in front of the scouts, and they recognized him at once. "Eren?!" they all whispered to themselves. He didn't pay attention, for he was already charging the abnormal titan about to catch Sasha. He grabbed the titans arm, and slung it into its comrades. Then he moved with incredible speed, killing all seven titans in under one minute. Hanji, Levi, Mikasa, and Sasha looked on with in utter awe, as Eren dispatched another four titans with ease. After He considered the area clear, he left his titan form, and walked up to the scouts. Hanji was not pleased, as neither were the others. Levi "Either you are really stupid, or you're really brave to come back after here after what you did to us inside the walls. Eren narrowed his eyes at Levi. "I suggest you watch your mouth, shithead. I could have easily killed you a few seconds ago. Or maybe it's the fact that your too stupid to realize that you should never let a titan get too close to you, shifter or not." Levi was taken aback at this new Eren. This new Eren wasn't even scared of humanity's strongest soldier.

Chapter 15

Levi "What was that, kid?" Eren appeared in front of Levi. "Call me a kid one more time Levi, and I'll paint the outer walls with your blood." Levi shuddered at the laid-back tone in Eren's voice. Mikasa and Hanji were beyond shocked at this change in Eren. He had so much confidence in his skills, it was believed that he seemed to think that he could kill Levi on his own. Levi jumped off his horse, and threw a punch at Eren. His eyes flew wide open in surprise when Eren simply inched his head to the left, and Levi's fist went right past him. Overbalanced, due to no direct contact, Levi staggered forward. He suddenly found Eren's hand around his shirt collar, and a knife suddenly appeared at his throat. Eren gave him a chilling smile, which showed no mercy. "Now you know what I'm capable of. Don't try my patience. Otherwise, your just making yourself look bad in front of your friends. I'll let the "kid" comment slide. Just make sure you call me by my name now." Levi nodded, and Eren let him go. Now, you will take me inside of the walls, and I'll see if I can help you guys clear up some of this mess." Mikasa "Hold it Eren. Don't think we're just going to let you inside of the walls." Eren rolled his eyes. "Mikasa, Mikasa. My dear adoptive sister, and my former friend. I could have killed all of you, then smashed a hole in the wall, letting myself in." Mikasa had nothing to say, for she believed every word he said. "Why did you attack me?" Eren whipped around to face her. "Why? _Why_?! You were going to kill Annie, and you didn't even stop to ask why she left her cell, you moron!"

Mikasa felt hurt. Deep inside, she was happy that he came back. But she felt even worse knowing that she was part of the reason he left the walls. "Well, I guess we should get him inside." Hanji shook her head in agreement. They entered the walls, and passed the training grounds, where Ymir was training in her titan form. As he walked through the city, he felt everyone's eyes on him. Suddenly, Ymir gave a roar, and charged at him. Eren quickly transformed, and picked Ymir up by the throat, then flung her into the wall. He left his titan form once he was sure that Ymir was out cold. Historia was shocked at his rash behavior, and rushed over to Ymir. She wasn't dead, but Historia wondered how Eren became so powerful in only a few weeks. Eren continued his walk through the streets as if nothing happened, while the other scouts were clenching their swords, eager to attack him. However, a simple nod from Levi had them sheathing their swords.

They entered the scouts HQ. Commander Erwin saw Eren and immediately leapt into action. He pulled out his sword, and swung lightning fast attacks at Eren. ( _They had noticed Eren coming several miles away, and set a trap.)_ Eren simply dodged them, and quickly moved behind Erwin. When Erwin turned to face Eren once more, he swung a backhanded stroke at Eren, hoping it would catch him off guard. It didn't. Instead, Eren moved to the left, grabbed Erwin's sword from his grasp, and then punched him with his other hand, knocking the commander out. Eren then used the commander's weapon to block a sword stroke from commander Pixus, then proceeded to use the flat of the blade to knock him out as well. Suddenly, just like that, the fight was over. Everyone moved back a couple of steps from Eren, for they feared that he would actually kill someone next. Eren "Would someone tell me what is going on here?" Hanji glared at him. "You crossed the line, coming back here Eren." Eren narrowed his eyes at her. "Really? Then you won't mind if I kill you first." Levi moved in front of Hanji, and drew his sword. "Stop, Eren, were begging you." Eren took a moment to consider his request.

Eren "Should I stop? Because really, I think you need to be killed. _All_ of you. You treated me like I was a criminal, when you were the ones who slandered my name in this city. _You_ were the ones who promised me many things, then pretended to give me freedom. Then you kept me with this asshole for several months. Until you prove to me that you can stop trying to assassinate me, then we will continue to see these occasional outbursts of rage." Levi sighed in frustration. "Fine, we need help getting rid of the armored titan. Problem is, Ymir isn't strong enough." A grin started to form on Eren's face. "I'll take care of Reiner. You guys just be sure to block off all of the exits." Levi "Got it. Let's go guys." They left the room, with Eren in the lead. Eren entered the city, and realized what they meant by Reiner being a serious asshole. He transformed and charged at Reiner, but missed him by mere inches. When did he get so fast? Reiner wasn't going to go down very easily, for Eren figured that out pretty fast. Eren hardened his fist, and punched Reiner several times, each hit knocking him back a few feet. Reiner retaliated by tackling Eren to the ground. What he didn't factor in, was that Eren was very smart. He used this opportunity to wrap his legs around Reiner's waist. Eren then squeezed his legs shut, locking Reiner in a deadly crushing maneuver. Reiner felt his armored plating start to crack, and started to freak out. He struggled to get free, but to no avail. Eren used this moment to bring his elbow down on the back of Reiner's head, knocking him out. Eren then watched as the scouts pulled Reiner out of his titan form, then place him in the cell next to Bertolt's.

After Eren had taken care of Reiner, he felt the need to be with Annie once more, for she was probably freaking out. "I need to get back to Annie, guys." Levi looked his way. "Wait, you're still dating her?" Eren growled a warning. "Of course I am, you moron." Levi had nothing else to say, for he was wondering why Eren would even consider leaving her to come back here in the first place. Eren scoffed at him. "I don't think you guys would have realized that I missed this place. It is where I grew up, you know." Mikasa couldn't argue with that. She turned her attention back to Eren, for he was about to speak once more. "Anyway, I need to get going." And with those final words, Eren left the building, and went outside the walls once more. It took him several days to reach Annie's village. Annie was sitting inside of their cabin when she got the news. One of the watchmen burst into her room, "Your boyfriend has returned!" Annie sprinted out of the room. She wanted to see his face once more. As it would turn out, Eren was in no way prepared for the way Annie would react. The second he entered the village gates, he was tackled to the ground by one grateful, and relieved girl he had been itching to return to. Annie screeched in joy. "Eren, your back!" Eren could only hug her back, for he had missed her greatly.

Eren "Woah, Annie! You should be a football player." Annie gave him a confused look. "What do you mean I could be a football player?" Eren had to think of something to say, and fast. "Um…never mind." Annie gave him a victorious grin. "Cat got your tongue?" Eren turned red, and some people in the village laughed. Annie decided to let it go, just this once. For his sake, of course. "Well, I guess we should head to our cabin. Everyone is wanting to know how many titans are in the forest." Eren was confused. "Hold up. Why do they want to know how many titans are in the forest?" Annie gave him a sad look. "I don't know, but I do know that it's suicide to even venture into the forest during the day. Even if my people are shifters, we cannot handle the amount of titans that live in the surrounding forest." Eren had to agree with her on that.

Chapter 16

Eren and Annie went to their cabin, and sat down at the table that Annie had made during his return trip to the walls. What Eren didn't like, was that there were a lot of people just standing outside of their cabin. "Um…Annie?" Annie turned to her boyfriend, and gave him an awkward smile. "Yes, Eren?" Eren looked towards the windows, which had many strange people whom he didn't know, looking through them. "Why are these people looking through the windows? It's making me uncomfortable." Annie couldn't agree more. "Me too Eren. However, we can't blame them. Their just curious." One of the villagers grabbed a chair from outside, and chunked it at their cabins patio. Eren heard someone yell. "COME ON, KISS ALREADY!" Eren opened the front door to their cabin, and yelled at the man who threw the chair. "HEY, ASSHOLE! THROW ANOTHER CHAIR AT THIS PATIO, AND IM GOING TO SHOVE IT UP YOUR SORRY ASS!" Annie put her head in her hands, and sighed in frustration. The date she had planned for Eren coming home…was apparently not going to happen. She needed to get Eren to sit down, and stop attracting attention to himself. Well, it just turned out to be her unlucky day, for Eren had attracted the attention of the headsman. She watched as he walked up to Eren. "What is the meaning of this?" Annie cringed, for she knew that Eren was going to speak his mind.

Eren "You need to tell your people that looking through someone's window, and throwing a chair at our cabin's freshly made patio, is going to get someone's ass kicked. Besides, I don't need to be crowded by people the second I get back from visiting the walls, then have some moron yell "Just kiss already!" the second I sit down beside my girlfriend." The headsman narrowed his eyes at Eren. "My people can do as they please, for I am in charge here, and I say they can do what they want." Eren "Okay, but don't come bitching at me when a few of your villagers come running to you-minus a few limbs. You may let them do whatever they want to. However, where I come from, if someone gets in my personal space then I'm going to permanently kick them out of it." The headsman sighed. "Very well. I'll tell them to give you and your girlfriend some privacy." Eren smiled. "Good." Annie was relieved, for she didn't expect their "little talk" to go very well.

When Eren sat back down beside her, he saw that she was giving him an "accusational" glare. "What?" Annie let her head fall into her hands once more, then she rose to face him. "Did you really have to threaten the headsman?" Eren gave her a confused look. "What? I didn't like the way he was looking at me, and that annoying tone in his voice really pissed me off." Annie sighed. "Wow. You _really_ have changed, Eren." Eren cocked his head sideways at her, not completely understanding what she meant by saying that he had changed. "Changed? How have I changed?" Annie looked at him with her bright blue eyes, sending a chill down his spine. "You used to be so reasonable when having conversations with others. Now you've just become aggressive. What happened back at the walls that made you this way?" Eren tried to look away, but Annie forced him to look into her eyes, and tell her the truth. Eren gave out a shaky sigh. "I guess it just happens to be that I have held in my anger for so long, that I just can't keep it inside of me any longer." Annie slowly sat back down. She was beginning to realize why Eren was so aggressive the past few weeks. She never thought of him being capable of feeling hurt from something that happened in the past. Now she knew he could, and she wanted to help him.

Annie looked at Eren once more before moving over to his side of the table to sit beside him. "Can you tell me what made you let out your anger?" Eren looked at her with those bright green eyes of his. "It was when Mikasa tried to kill you back inside the walls, even though she had promised me that she would try to understand you." Annie leaned back a little. "Wait. She actually was going to try and understand life through my point of view?" Eren "Yes, however, something changed her mind. When she tried to kill you, I felt betrayed. My mother adopted her after I saved her from some slave traders who wanted to sell her for a nice profit. The slave traders killed her parents. When my mother took her in, she made her promise to protect me the best she could. Apparently, she took the promise to heart. True, she made me mad at times, but I knew that she was only doing it to protect me. To see her go back on her word like that, shattered me." Annie kept quiet. She didn't know what to say. She was worried that if she said the wrong thing, he would start crying. However, if she didn't say anything, Eren would think that she didn't care. She decided to just hug him tightly, and hope that he would stop stressing himself out, and allow his heart rate to return to normal before he had a heart attack, or worse. Eren fell asleep in Annie's tight embrace.

The next morning, Eren woke up to the smell of breakfast. He left the dinner table, and trudged into the kitchen. Eren saw that she had cooked eggs. After he ate, he decided to take a stroll through the village to clear his thoughts. He walked through the crowded marketplace, where everyone seemed to be at. He spotted Annie, who was packing her things. Eren decided to go over and ask her what she was doing, for he thought that she was going to stay in her village for as long as she could. Eren "What are you doing? I thought you were going to stay in your village for as long as you could." Annie turned to face him. "I am. Were all leaving the village on the headsman's orders, for the order titans are becoming too much of a threat for us to stay here any longer. Are you coming with us?" Eren nodded his head, confirming that he was indeed, going. Annie gave Eren a smile, then walked off to pack the rest of her stuff for the trip.

Eren headed to their cabin, and started to gather the little possessions he brought with him. He didn't know what to bring, so he just grabbed everything. He really didn't know why they were leaving the village until a few minutes ago. He left the cabin with his things, and headed back to the market square. It took about an hour before the villagers headed out, and Annie was nervous. She had never traveled with her people before, and so stuck close to Eren the best she could. Eren however, was okay with traveling with Annie's people, for she was right beside him. Every time he would lose sight of Annie, he would start to frantically search for her until she would suddenly appear beside him, shaking with fear. He would then start to hold her hand, so she wouldn't get lost within the thick crowd of villagers. Annie stopped walking, for she felt something huge move in the distance. "Eren…something huge is coming our way." Everyone stopped, for they could feel it too. Annie's grandfather moved up to the front of the massive group of villagers, and transformed. Eren did the same, and Annie's grandfather moved aside so Eren could stand next to him. ( _I'm sorry, but I forgot to mention when Annie's grandfather taught Eren how to speak in his titan form.)_ Eren turned to face Annie's grandfather. "So, what do you think it could be?" Annie's grandfather looked at Eren. Eren could see that he had a disturbed look on his face. "Eren, my worst fear is that it is the order." Eren groaned in frustration. He didn't want to meet another one of those guys.

Chapter 17

Eren took his usual stance. Annie's grandfather did the same. They watched as seven titans of the order headed towards them in the distance. Annie's grandfather took a step back. He turned to Eren, fear showing on his face. "Shit. We need to go, _now!_ " he turned to warn the other villagers to run for their lives, but was stopped by Eren. "Wait. What's so dangerous about these ones?" Annie's grandfather spoke with anxiety clearly evident in his voice. "What?! The titans are twice our size! Not to mention, those are the elite class. The one you injured in the forest was just a foot soldier. These ones are the real deal." Eren knew what he had to do. "Get the villagers out of here. I'll hold them off for as long as I can!" Annie's grandfather couldn't believe what he was hearing. "That's a one-way trip, Eren! It's suicidal! What will I tell Annie?" Eren sighed sadly. "I know she won't like this, but I'm doing this for her people. If you say they are an elite class, then they should be able to catch up to us with ease. Either that, or they will chase us relentlessly. It wouldn't matter what we do. We'll eventually have to fight them sooner or later, and I am not going to sit and wait around for them to kill someone." Annie's grandfather gave Eren a firm handshake. "You know, I always thought that you weren't worth of dating my son's daughter, but now that I see it, you are one of the bravest men I have ever met in my life. Good luck out there. One more thing." Eren "What?" Annie's grandfather smiled at Eren. "Give them hell." Eren grinned at him. "Oh, you know I will."

Eren watched as Annie's grandfather led the villagers to safety. He looked back, and saw that Annie was following her grandfather, unaware that he wasn't coming. Eren sighed sadly, then turned to face the enemy. He almost fell backwards in utter shock, for they were all at least twenty meters tall. Eren charged the first titan that was in front of him. He jumped up, then slammed his fist into the titan's face. The titan staggered back several feet, then shot acid at Eren as it fell. Eren saw the acid just in time, and quickly rolled to the side. The acid missed him my mere inches. By the time Eren had gotten back up, the other titans were swarming him, and he went berserk. He slashed at one titans arm, ripping it off. He then dodged a lightning fast attack from one of the titans who used some sort of hardening ability to try and take his head off with one blow. Eren decided it was time to give them a taste of their own medicine. He maneuvered his way out of the mass of titans, and charged in once more. He hardened his fist, and started to pound the titan closest to him with powerful, precise jabs at its face. Eren soon saw that with each hit he landed he begun to realize that his blows were doing little to no effect, for the order titans seemed to have an amazing resilience to serious beatings.

In a way, they were like his attack titan, for the order titan whose arm he ripped off, had already grown back. It was insane, and Eren started to receive critical blows to his abdomen, arms, and face. He was starting to slip into a deep sleep, from which he feared he would never wake up from. He started to panic, and so let out a furious growl deep from within his throat, and head butted the titan in front of him, while receiving blows from behind him. The titan flew back several yards and landed on its back. Eren wasted no time in grabbing its leg, then swinging the titan into its comrades, knocking them down like nine pins. He then landed on one of the titans, and proceeded to rip its head off. He now killed one. There was just six more to go. However, his victory was short lived, for he never saw the attack which came from behind. His head was smashed against the ground, then he was thrown across the forest, and landed beside the fleeing villagers. A dark blackness clouded his vision, then…nothing.

Annie followed her grandfather as he led the villagers away. She didn't know where Eren was, and it was really freaking her out. It wasn't until she looked at her grandfather and saw the expression that was etched across his face. It was a face she saw on her father's face often. "What happened? Where's Eren!" her grandfather gave her a sad look. "I don't know how to tell you this, but Eren stayed behind to hold off the seven order titans. I have never seen a braver man in all my years. He would have made a fine warrior." Annie almost fainted. "YOU WHAT?! YOU LET HIM STAY BEHIND! YOU SON OF A BITCH!" her grandfather held up his hand, and she lowered her voice. "I tried to get him to come with me, but he refused. That boyfriend of yours is very stubborn." Annie wanted to know where he was. "Can we stop to see if he makes it out?" her grandfather nodded his head. "Yes, we can. I want to make sure he is remembered." Annie and her grandfather told the villagers to keep moving forward, and they stayed behind to watch Eren fight the order. Annie could see that Eren got off the first hit, for she saw one of the order stagger back. However, as the battle progressed, she began to worry. She was covering her eyes when Eren was swarmed by the order, and her grandfather just looked on, a blank expression on his face. She heard him gasp in shock when Eren killed on of the order, then both of their expressions turned into one of horror when Eren got his head smashed in. Annie could tell he was dying. Tears flooded her eyes, for she wanted to go and help him, but her grandfather would not allow it.

Annie watched, tears running down her face. She saw the titan pick him up, then chunk him into the trees where she stood. She rushed over to him, and pulled him out of his titan. The damage to his person was so devastating, that Annie couldn't bear herself to tend to his wounds, for there was so much blood. Her grandfather however, did not hesitate, and immediately started to tend to his wounds. As he worked on Eren, he felt something emerging from within his body. Suddenly, he was blown back, as the demon Atriox emerged from his body in an elemental form, then solidified once outside of Eren's body. The order who were moving in to wipe out Annie's people stopped at the sight of Atriox. Atriox stood the exact height of the attack titan, and had huge fiery wings. Atriox opened his hands, and razor-sharp claws extended from his fingernails. Atriox then gave a deep growl that resonated deep within his throat. The order was not fazed by Atrioxes power, or appearance. It was the last mistake they ever made.

Annie watched in awe, as Atrioxes skin started to glow. As she continued to watch, his skin transformed into armor plating, which the order tried to break, but could not. It was impenetrable. Atriox simple swung his arm in an arc, and two of the order's heads rolled to the floor. Atriox then proceeded to fly up into the sky, and dive bomb the order, his fiery wings making him look like he was a giant ball of fire flying through the sky. Within seconds, the rest of the order were burned to crisp, and their ashes blew away with the wind. Annie watched as Atriox landed beside Eren, and put his hand close to Erens wounds. A golden light emanated from his hand, and Annie watched as Eren's blood rose out of the ground, and re-entered his body. She then watched as the massive wound on Eren's head healed itself, and there was no scar to be seen anywhere. Atriox then turned back into an elemental, and floated back into Eren's body. Eren woke up, startled. He was then hugged by a hysterical Annie, who was literally bawling her eyes out. He held her close, for he did not like to see her cry. He knew she would probably berate him later, but right now, he just wanted to focus on calming her down, for she was crying a river of tears, and mumbling nonsense into his now soaking shirt.

Chapter 18

Eren had to carry Annie to their new village, where they built another cabin. The thing about the new village was that it was closer to the Eldian city, and not to mention...she had him on lock down. He wasn't even able to take out the trash without her supervision. The only time she left him alone, was when he was with her grandfather. Eren had recently sat down at a bench with Annie's grandfather, and her grandfather decided to ask him how he felt about Annie's over protectiveness over him lately. "So, Eren. How are you and Annie doing?" Eren sighed. "Dude, she won't even let me go to the bathroom if she isn't in there." Annie's grandfather's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, she won't let you go to the bathroom by yourself?" Eren looked at the ground. "No…she won't let me go to the bathroom unless she is in there with me. If you ask me, it's very unsettling. I need my privacy too. Although I guess it doesn't matter anymore. She makes me sit in the bathroom when she takes a shower." Annie's grandfather felt like he knew too much. "Okay…let's talk some other time." Eren shrugged his shoulders. "Okay." Eren got up from the bench, and left for the cabin, for if he went anywhere else, Annie would tan his hide. Eren looked around for her, and he didn't have to look long. She was pacing back and forth in front of their door, and immediately saw him standing outside the door.

Annie opened the door, and literally dragged Eren inside, but stopped when she saw that something was bothering him. "What's wrong Eren?" He turned to face her. "I was wanting to go visit my friends behind the walls one last time." Annie glared at him. "You're not going anywhere without me mister. Is that clear?" Eren sighed. "Yes." Annie smiled. "Okay, we can start heading there." Eren took her hand, and they left the village. It only took them two hours to reach the walls, and Eren waited for them to come this time, after knocking on the gate. Levi opened the gate. "Back already? Were still not happy with you." Eren sighed grudgingly. "Yeah, I know. Now shut up about it." Levi narrowed his eyes at Annie. "Why is she here?" Annie answered for Eren. "He just recovered from nearly dying not two days ago, and I'm watching him now. Although, I'm proud of him. He took on seven order titans, and killed one. No one has ever killed an order titan before. He sacrificed himself to help evacuate my people from the forest. Those order titans are becoming a major problem." Levi "Wait. Order titan? What in the hell is that?" Annie turned to face him once more. "They are an intelligent race of titans that can spit acid, harden their skin, are resistant to cannon fire, and anti-titan cannon fire." Levi whistled. "They seem like trouble." Annie rolled her eyes at him. "They are."

Levi let them in, and they were soon surrounded by all their former squad mates. Mikasa, Armin, Sasha, Connie, Historia, Ymir, and Section commander Hanji, were in a circle around them. Mikasa was eager to see Eren return. She wanted to apologize for going back on the promise she had made Eren. Sasha just wanted to know if they had any food with them. Armin also wanted to apologize, for he had literally taken Eren's situation to heart, and completely removed him from his life. Now he had nobody to talk to about the outside world, for Eren was the only person that cared. However, now he could finally know what some of the outside world was like, for Eren had traveled with Annie outside the walls, and into the forest. Historia wanted nothing to do with Eren, and kept her distance. Ymir having the same idea, also kept her distance from Eren. Connie had no idea why he came. It turns out that he was just following Sasha.

Eren looked around him, and saw friendly faces mixed in with a lot of unfriendly faces. As far as he could tell, only a few of them were friendly. The rest…well the rest were just plain hostile, and he didn't like it one bit. "Could you guys back up a little, and give us some space?" everyone who was around Eren and Annie took a few steps back. Eren "Thank you." A few of his former friends nodded in acknowledgement. Levi decided to ask Eren a question that had been lingering in the back of his mind for at least an hour. "So, any particular reason you two are here?" Eren turned to face Levi. "Oh, we just came here to see how you guys were doing." Levi didn't say anything. There was an awkward silence between the two men, until Eren was approached by Armin. He saw that Armin was a bit slow to approach him. He didn't seem ready to apologize to Eren just yet. Eren "Come on man, its okay if you want to talk to me. That is what you wanted to do…didn't you?" Armin "Um, Yeah. I just wanted to apologize for everything that happened in the past few weeks. I didn't realize that you were just protecting Annie." Eren "its okay Armin. That's in the past now."

He heard Armin sigh in relief. Annie couldn't help but feel happy, for the tension between Eren and Armin's relationship as friends had finally calmed down. Mikasa on the other hand, was afraid to apologize to Eren, for she had caused the most hurt to him during the last past month or so. Also, not to mention the fact that she was constantly treating him like a child while they were growing up, and it had constantly annoyed Eren. So…no, she wasn't ready to apologize. At least…not just yet. Connie was the next person to walk up to Eren. "Sup man. I really don't know why I'm here. I just followed Sasha." Eren gave Connie an incredulous look. "You follow her around?" Connie turned red. "Yeah…it's just a habit." Eren nodded, because he knew what Connie meant. Eren turned to face Mikasa. "Don't you want to say something?" Mikasa looked away from Eren. "I don't have anything to say to you right now." Eren didn't believe it. "You won't say anything to me?" Mikasa looked down at the ground in shame. Eren decided to ignore her, for she was trying to make him feel pity for hurting her feelings. He continued his speech. "We grew up together. I didn't lose faith in you. You lost faith in me. Why won't you just give up already, and apologize."

Mikasa's resolve to hold out on Eren finally shattered. She couldn't take it anymore, for he would not give in. "Fine. I'm sorry for breaking the promise I made to you." Eren accepted her apology with a silent nod. He knew he should have made her look into his eyes, and have her apologize. However, he knew it would only separate them further as a family. Eren turned to Annie, who silently shook her head. He then turned to face the people still crowding them. "Okay, guys. You can all back off more than a few steps this time." Most of the people moved back, but some of them remained close to him and Annie, which infuriated him. Luckily, Annie yanked him so he was facing her, and sternly shook her head in disapproval. Eren calmed down, and let Annie lead him to where Sasha, Connie, Mikasa, Levi, Armin, and Hanji stood. "Thanks Annie. I didn't know how much longer I could hold my anger back." Annie gave him a smile. Eren walked up to Levi. "Hey. Sorry about that time when I flung you through a window." Levi allowed a smile to break through, which made everyone gasp. He showed his emotions for the _First Time_ … in a large crowd. He looked up from the ground. "It's alright, Eren. Say, you and Annie want to stay here again?" Eren turned to Annie. "Well, do you want to stay?" Annie looked up at him. "I don't see why not. We've made it this far, so why not settle down here?" Eren turned to Levi. "We've decided to stay." Levi nodded. Well then. Let's get you settled in, shall we?" Eren nodded.

Chapter 19

Eren looked at Annie, then nodded to Levi, who was happy that they were finally cool with each other once again. He led Eren and Annie down the hall, where they found that Levi and the other scouts were being considerably friendlier. They even gave him and Annie a bed for two, and added in their own practice station where they could hone their skills with the weapons that were lined up along the walls when they walked into the room. Eren turned to Annie, and gave her a smile. "Well, I guess we did do _something_ right after all." Annie shook her head in agreement. She didn't exactly like the way some of the scouts were looking at her, and was glad to be out of crowded streets. Eren looked to his right to see Annie looking around her in awe. "Yeah, the decor looks amazing." Annie gave him a snarky look. "Of course it's amazing. Although, at first look, I never imagined the headquarters to be this fancy, or that they even had a lot of money."

Eren didn't say anything, for he was wondering why the scouts managed to get their hands on enough money to live in style. They must have spent at least a fortune on this place, compared to all the money they paid for the scouts that died in combat over the years. He realized that they still had to deal with the Order, for they _did_ chase them halfway across the forest just to kill them. He felt like he needed to reengage the enemy, but was in no condition to continue his attack. Besides, he was almost massacred the last time he tried to take on three of the bastards. He needed to train a lot more before he was ready to achieve his goal of keeping Annie's people safe from the outsiders. He turned to face Annie. "What do you think about the Order? Will they try something while I am recovering from my wounds?" Annie took on a serious tone. "I don't think you will be engaging anyone anytime soon, buster." Eren had to smile, for sarcasm was clearly heavy in her voice. To him, it made her look cute, but he told himself he would never tell her, for if she heard him say that she was cute when she got angry at him, she would have broken his arm.

Annie realized that Eren was staring at her with those adorable green eyes of his. Why did he make her feel so happy? Was it the fact that he was the only one who understood how she felt? Or was it the fact that he never left her side, even after all she did to hurt his relationships with his friends, and how many of them she ended up killing. And _still_ , he stayed by her side. She was really starting to wonder how lucky she was to have a guy like him. She never knew how he would have reacted when she killed his friends, and done everything in her power in order to push him out of her life. However, now she is happy that he was too stupid and stubborn to leave her side. He did what she thought was impossible. He gave her a new life. A chance to start over, and correct her many mistakes she had made in the past. She was drawn from her trance when Eren poked her in the shoulder. She turned to him, giving a low growl. She was a little agitated at him for interrupting her wonderful daydream. However, Erens voice brought her back into reality. "Do you think we should go see Levi and the others?" she punched him lightly in the shoulder. Eren hissed a little. "Ow! Why do you have to constantly do that?!" Annie held back a giggle. " _That_ , was for interrupting the nice daydream I was having." Eren scowled at her, and dragged her outside so they could meet the others. He knew he was probably going to get punched in the arm again, but he decided it was going to be worth it.

Annie realized that Eren was dragging her outside once more, and started to whine in protest. "I don't want to go outside with all of those people who don't know what _personal space_ is." Eren laughed. "You _do_ realize, that those people outside are just there to keep a close eye on us. They're not standing there to invade your personal space the moment we walk outside of the headquarters." Annie gave an irritated sigh, giving up. If there was anyone stupid enough to argue with _Eren fucking Yeager_ for a second, then they soon come to realize that he doesn't change his mind. This was about the only thing she hated about Eren. He was too stubborn to get him to change his mind about anything. I guess that's why he is called a suicidal bastard, because of his temper and stubbornness. It was also because he was the first to rush into combat, not caring if he was killed or not. Everyone knows what happened to Jean when he argued with Eren. The last time Jean made fun of Eren's adoptive sister Mikasa, Eren went off on him. She actually grimaced when the poor bastard put Jean in a headlock, and was about to snap his neck when Mikasa intervened. If there was one thing she didn't want to do, it was piss of Eren.


End file.
